§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with British Rail about the reliability of late night inter-city trains between London and Liverpool, and with the operators of Merseyrail about the reliability of local services; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanI am not aware of any major problems with the reliability of late night InterCity services between London and Liverpool.
519WMerseyrail services are sponsored by Merseyside PTE. They set quality of service targets for local services. It would be for the PTE to take up any question of the reliability of these services with British Rail.