§ Sir D. Kaberryasked the Minister of Transport what application has been made to him by British Railways for capital sanction for the future development and improvement of the amenities at King's Cross and St. Pancras railway stations.
§ Mr. SwinglerNo application has yet been received.
§ Sir D. Kaberrysked the Minister of Transport (1) if he will give a general direction to British Railways that they 284W should provide an adequate force of porters at main railway stations throughout the country to assist elderly travellers and mothers with young children and incapacitated or infirm people with their baggage and to assist such people to negotiate difficult subways to and from platforms;
(2) if he will give a general direction to British Railways to improve the amenities of their railway passenger stations by the provision, wherever practicable, of overhead bridges with sloping ramps, preferably mechanically moving, to gain access to or exit from island platforms in place of subways with steep steps which frequently prove difficult to negotiate by the aged, the infirm and mothers with children;
(3) if he will give a general direction in the interests of the travelling public to British Railways to review the number of all the public telephone call boxes at main railway stations, and where practicable to arrange for the installation of such call boxes on main departure and arrival platforms as well as supplementing the number of those on main station concourses.
§ Mr. SwinglerNo. These are detailed matters of management and a general direction would be entirely inappropriate.