§ Mr. R. Gibsonasked the Minister of Transport (1) whether he will cause inquiry to be made into the frequent breakdown of locomotives attached to passenger trains on the Wemyss Bay— Glasgow route; how many of such locomotives are over 30 and 40 years old, respectively; and whether he will make representations to the company with a view to securing to the public using this route a better service;
(2) whether he is aware that the passenger-train services on the Glasgow— Ayr, Glasgow—Largs and Glasgow— Wemyss Bay routes are causing dissatisfaction, inconvenience and needless expense to travellers using them; and will he inquire into the failure of the company to provide a punctual and efficient service?
§ Captain WallaceBetween 1st January and 14th June this year there were four engine casualties on the Glasgow— Wemyss Bay section, the locomotives being 22, 6, 6, and 3 years old respectively. I am informed that during last winter speeds had to be reduced at Langbank owing to the reconstruction of a bridge carrying a public road. Recently there has been a heavy traffic2268W on the routes mentioned to and from the coast, particularly on the 3rd June (when 384 trains were run), on the 4th June (when there was delay owing to an engine failure), and on the 10th, June (when 360 trains were run). Nevertheless, the average number of minutes late per train, Monday to Friday (1st May to 16th June) was less than two minutes, and on Saturdays, only 5½ minutes.