§ Mr. Thornton-Kemsleyasked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that residents in Newtonhill, Portlethen, Muchalls and Stonehaven, who work in Aberdeen, have to wait until 4.25 p.m. before they can get a train home after work on Saturdays now that the 1.20 p.m. train has been cancelled on Saturdays, although it still runs from Monday to Friday; and if he will consider restoring this train on Saturdays, which is the day of the week on which it is most in demand.
§ Mr. BarnesI am informed that the average number of passengers leaving Aberdeen on this train from Monday to Friday is 10, and the average for Saturday is 14. On weekdays other than Saturday the engine is required to go to Stonehaven for freight shunting and to haul the 4.15 p.m. from Stonehaven to Aberdeen. Otherwise the train would have been withdrawn completely. There is a half-hourly bus service from Aberdeen to Stonehaven daily, the route of which is close to the railway.