§ Colonel IVOR PHILIPPSasked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the failure of the Great Eastern Railway Company to manage the ordinary traffic on their line on Saturday, 12th July, owing to an accident outside Colchester; and whether, in view of the disaster which such incapacity would cause in the event of military operations on the East Coast, he will call for a special Report upon the handling of the traffic on the occasion referred to?
Mr. ROBERTSONI have been asked by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War to reply to this question. The engine of the train concerned in this accident overturned and fell across both running lines. Traffic in both directions had to be worked through a siding, and this necessarily caused a good deal of delay until the lines were cleared. When I have received and considered the Report of the Board of Trade Inquiry which has been ordered into the circumstances attending the accident, I will consider, in consultation with my right hon. Friend, whether any further inquiry is necessary.