HC Deb 23 November 1917 vol 99 cc1544-5W
Mr. KELLY

asked under what statute or Order the Great Northern Railway Company discriminate amongst third class passengers travelling on the evening mail from Belfast to Dublin by preventing those from Londonderry and Strabane from travelling; is this company under a statutory duty to give the preference, in cases of limited seating accommodation, to passengers whose journey is longest: and is this rule disregarded in this case by the company?

Mr. KELLY

asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that one of the by-laws of the Great Northern Railway Company (Ireland) permits the company, in cases where the train is overcrowded, to remove therefrom passengers whose journeys are shorter in order to accommodate those who have furthest to travel; if he will say whether passengers whose journey is longer have a right to be carried in preference to those whose journey is shorter; and, if so, if he will explain how the preference which the company at present attempts to extend to third-class passengers from Belfast, Dundalk and Drogheda travelling on the evening mail from Belfast to Dublin at the expense of third-class passengers from Londonderry, Strabane, and Dungannon is justified?

Mr. DUKE

The railway company is under no statutory obligation to convey third-class passengers by all trains. The by-law referred to is not peculiar to the Great Northern (Ireland) Railway. It is adopted by railway companies generally. It is made to meet certain eventualities, but I am informed that in practice it is rarely, if ever, acted upon. I am assured that the company do not extend preference to third-class passengers from Belfast, Dundalk, and Drogheda to Dublin at the expense of passengers from London- derry, Strabane, and Dungannon. No third-class passengers (other than military) are conveyed from Belfast to Dublin by the train in question; no third-class passengers (other than military) are conveyed from Dundalk to Dublin by that train, and no third-class passengers (other than military) are conveyed from Drogheda to Dublin by that train.