§ Mr. Ron Lewisasked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement on liner trains, and their introduction; and what response he received in his consultations with the railway trade unions in the matter.
§ Mr. Tom FraserI would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Members for St. Albans (Mr. Goodhew) and Torrington (Mr. Peter Mills) on 28th April. The Executive Committee130W of the National Union of Railwaymen informed me that they were convinced that to proceed with liner trains on the basis of accepting sub-contracts from private road hauliers, which in their view is essentially what "open terminals" mean, would be against the best interests of the country and the proper integration of transport, and detrimental to British Railways. They accordingly declined to co-operate with the Railways Board in furthering a project which, in their opinion, would have these effects. They considered that a fair assessment of the position could be obtained were the Board to start the first route on the terms offered by the Union.