§ Mr. Ellis Smithasked the Minister of Transport if he will refuse to grant approval for capital expenditure and to sanction any changes or closures on all railways within a 12-mile radius of Manchester until he receives the results of the transport and utilisation of land survey which is to be carried out in the next two years in the Greater Manchester area.
§ Mr. MarplesNo. In the Manchester area, as elsewhere, changes in the pattern of railway services may be fully justifiable in their own right. In such circumstances it would be wrong to suspend action to await the results of a survey. I shall be in close touch with the survey in the Manchester conurbation and shall be able to assess its relevance to proposals which come before me. Where railway passenger closures are concerned, I shall in any case have before me the views of local authorities and others who have made representations or objections. Where further studies are needed before I can reach a decision, I shall not hesitate to commission them.