§ Mr. Lipsonasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport how it was possible to provide a special non-stop train on 6th January from 179W London to Cheltenham for the races, in view of his refusal of the repeated requests from the Cheltenham Town Council and the Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce for better train facilities between London and Cheltenham for business purposes; if there was a dining-car on the train; is it proposed to run this train every alternate Saturday till the end of March for the races; and will he now arrange for one fast train a day each way between London and Cheltenham to meet the needs of the business community.
§ Mr. Noel-BakerStrict instructions have been given by my Noble Friend to the railway companies that no special facilities shall be provided for passengers travelling to race meetings. In my Noble Friend's opinion, the provision of this train involved a serious breach of these instructions, and he is taking the action that is required. There was no dining car on the train, but accommodation was reserved for some of the passengers. In my Noble Friend's opinion, this reservation also involved a breach of his instruction that no accommodation shall be reserved on any train except in a strictly limited number of cases and for reasons of national interest. I regret that, owing to the heavy load of essential traffic on this line, it is impossible to provide any additional fast trains for Cheltenham.