§ Captain Pluggeasked the Minister of Transport whether he can give any estimate of the reduction in the consumption of coal by railway companies in this country as a result of improvements in the design of railway locomotives during recent years?
§ Mr. BurginThe consumption of coal per engine mile is given in the Annual Railway Returns issued by my Department and shows some reduction over the last ten years, but I am unable to isolate the effect of improvements in locomotive design from other relevant factors.