§
Mr. Mulley
I have decided to undertake to pay grant for various periods for 120 services and for the services forming the London communter networks. This is in addition to the services for which undertakings covering 1970 and, in some cases, 1971 are already in force. Total expenditure on all these services in 1970 is likely to be in the region of £58 million.
The amounts of the grants for individual services announced last year required substantial adjustment to take account of the effect of grants under Section 40 and the financial reconstruction under Section 42 of the Transport Act 1968. The figures for each service given in this answer are calculated on the revised basis and are thus not directly comparable with those given for 1969; further minor adjustments may be necessary for a number of reasons. The Railways Board, as required by statute, will publish revised figures for 1969 for all grant-aided services in its report for 1969.
In deciding the length of the undertaking attached to any particular service I have had to take into account a number of different considerations. In some cases revised patterns of service may be envisaged, either on the grant-aided service itself or on associated services; the Railways Board has been unable to predict beyond the end of 1970 the financial results of new patterns of service yet to be introduced. It is still the long-term aim that eventually all undertakings shall be for three years, not least since this will help to equalise the work load both on the Railways Board and on the Ministry in preparing and processing grant applications, so that only one third of the total will have to he processed in any one year. It has, therefore, been necessary for such reasons to give one or two year undertakings for certain of the services. However, in the case of the Euston-Stranraer service I am restricting the grant to six months. During this period the most suitable future arrangements for providing the service will be examined. Details of these services, as well as those services for which I am giving a three-year undertaking, and of the amounts of grant payable in 1970 are included in List 1.
397WThere are also a number of services for which, on the information at present available to me concerning social and economic need, I need not think that I would be justified in giving an undertaking for a longer period than two years. Details of these services, and the amount of grant payable in 1970, are given in List 2. Before giving a further undertaking to grant-aid any of these services after 31st December, 1971 I shall require more cogent evidence of social or economic need for their continuation. I have therefore told the board that I am unlikely to renew grant unless I have previously refused consent to a statutory closure proposal. Some of these services are in passenger transport areas. If the Railways Board should publish closure proposals in respect of such services the Passenger Transport Executive would have a statutory right to lodge objections, and in any case before reaching final decisions on the future of these services I would consult the relevant executive as to whether the services in question had any future in its long-term plans. I shall also consult the Greater London Council about the services in its area. If I eventually consent to closure the services concerned might be withdrawn, and the grant terminated, during the period of the undertaking.
Special considerations apply to London commuter services. The Government's policy, as set out in the White Paper "Transport in London" (Cmnd. 3686) is to treat these services as a network, but last year it was only possible to treat the Southern region commuter services in this way. Other London commuter services north of the Thames were grant-aided on an individual basis. I am still discussing with the Board whether it is now appropriate to apply the network concept to all the London commuter services. The actual amount payable for these London commuter services in 1970 will in any case depend to some extent on the Government decisions required following the forthcoming Report of the National Board for Prices and Incomes, which has been considering proposals by British Railways to raise their London commuter fares. I expect the payment in 1970 to be in the range of £12 to £15 million, including payments in respect of those services for which my predecessor issued undertakings at this time last
398W
year. I hope to announce the detailed figures for these services early in 1970.
I share the view of my predecessor that the London—High Wycombe—Aylesbury service, which forms part of the London network would represent better value for money if it were diverted from its present London terminus of Marylebone to Paddington, where passengers would have a wider choice of interchange facilities. I have therefore informed the Railways Board that further grant for this service after the end of 1970 is dependent upon its publishing a closure proposal for the section of route between Neasden Junction and Northolt Junction, including four stations—Wembley Hill, Sudbury and Harrow Road, Sudbury Hill (Harrow) and Northolt Park.
LIST 1
GRANTS OUTSIDE THE LONDON AREA
Undertakings to pay grant in 1970, 1971, and 1972 are being issued in respect of the following services outside the London commuter network:
|
Amount of Grant in 1970 |
| Eastern Region of British Railways |
| Darlington/Northallerton —Hartlepool |
49,000 |
| Darlington—Saltburn |
301,000 |
| Darlington — Bishop Auckland |
127,000 |
| Middlesbrough—Whitby |
194,000 |
| Hull—Bridlington—Scarborough |
380,000 |
| York—Scarborough |
270,000 |
| York—Harrogate |
165,000 |
| York—Newcastle (local service) |
230,000 |
| Leeds—Harrogate |
208,000 |
| Leeds—Huddersfield |
87,000 |
| Leeds—Huddersfield—Man-chester—Liverpool |
204,000 |
| Leeds—Hull |
316,000 |
| Leeds—Skipton—Morecambe |
213,000 |
| Doncaster—Cleethorpes |
191,000 |
| Cleethorpes/Grimsby — Newark |
111,000 |
| Retford—Cleethorpes |
65,000 |
| Ipswich—Lowestoft |
200,000 |
| East Anglia — Midlands/North of England |
396,000 |
| Norwich—Sheringham |
133,000 |
| London Midland Region of British Railways |
| Manchester—Stalybridge—Huddersfield (local service) |
91,000 |
| Manchester—Wigan—South-port |
683,000 |
| Derby—Nottingham |
133,000 |
| Derby—Matlock |
78,000 |
| Crewe—Derby |
332,000 |
| Leicester—Peterborough |
94,000 |
| Leeds—Carlisle—Glasgow |
122,000 |
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|
Amount of Grant in 1970 |
| Liverpool (Exchange) — Wigan—Bolton |
283,000 |
| Euston—Northampton — Birmingham |
284,000 |
| Wolverhampton—Chester |
520,000 |
| Rugby—Nuneaton—Stafford (local service) |
126,000 |
| Scottish Region of British Railways |
| Inverness—Wick/Thurso |
584,000 |
| Glasgow—Kirkcaldy |
15,000 |
| Glasgow—Ayr |
364,000 |
| Edinburgh—Glasgow via Falkirk (Grahamston) |
44,000 |
| Southern Region of British Railways |
| Reading—Basingstoke — Salisbury |
112,000 |
| Reading—Redhill — Ton-bridge |
459,000 |
| Bournemouth—Weymouth |
510,000 |
| Western Region of British Railways |
| Bristol—Salisbury |
110,000 |
| Bristol—Weymouth |
294,000 |
| Bristol—Weston-super-Mare (local service) |
204,000 |
| Hereford—Worcester |
253,000 |
| Cardiff—Newport—Bristol |
246,000 |
| Oxford—Leamington |
86,000 |
| Salisbury—Exeter |
409,000 |
| Worcester—Birmingham |
9,000 |
Undertakings to pay grant in 1970 and 1971 are being issued in respect of the following services outside the London commuter network:
| Eastern Region of British Railways |
| Newcastle—Alnmouth—Berwick-Edinburgh (local service) |
259,000 |
| York—Shrewsbury |
26,000 |
| Bradford—Blackpool |
78,000 |
| Huddersfield—Clayton West/Penistone |
130,000 |
| Penistone—Sheffield |
44,000 |
| Cleethorpes—New Holland Pier/Barton-on-Humber |
135,000 |
| Lincoln/Grantham—Boston |
183,000 |
| King's Cross—Peterborough—Grantham / Stamford (local service) |
210,000 |
| Ipswich—Felixstowe |
90,000 |
| London Midland Region of British Railways |
| Bletchley—Bedford |
129,000 |
| Manchester—Glossop/Hadfield |
284,000 |
| Manchester—Romiley—New Mills/Rose Hill |
354,000 |
| Manchester—Chinley — Sheffield |
41,000 |
| Derby—Manchester |
225,000 |
| New Mills—Sheffield (local service) |
69,000 |
| Machynlleth—Pwllheli |
241,000 |
| Manchester—Oldham— Rochdale |
469,000 |
| Birmingham (Snow Hill)—Wolverhampton (Low Level) |
117,000 |
| Birmingham (Snow Hill)—Langley Green |
46,000 |
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|
Amount of Grant in 1970 |
| Scottish Region of British Railways |
| Glasgow—Oban |
291,000 |
| Glasgow—Fort William |
209,000 |
| Fort William—Mallaig |
173,000 |
| Edinburgh—Dundee (via Dunfermline) |
283,000 |
| Edinburgh—Dundee (via Kirkcaldy) |
319,000 |
| Montrose — Dundee—Perth (local service) |
131,000 |
| Edinburgh—Stirling—Perth |
394,000 |
| Edinburgh—North Berwick |
51,000 |
| Glasgow—Stirling—Dunblane (local service) |
202,000 |
| Southern Region of British Railways |
| Isle of Wight |
120,000 |
| Portsmouth—Southampton—Salisbury/Fareham—Eastleigh |
690,000 |
| Western Region of British Railways |
| Bodmin Road—Newquay |
107,000 |
| Bristol—Clifton Down—Severn Beach |
171,000 |
| †Cardiff—Crewe |
221,000 |
| Exeter—Barnstaple |
140,000 |
| Exeter—Paington/Plymouth |
229,000 |
| Liskeard—Looe |
35,000 |
| Plymouth—Penzance |
199,000 |
| Oxford—Worcester |
63,000 |
| Swansea—Carmarthen—Milford Haven |
276,000 |
| Swansea—Llanelli —Shrewsbury |
370,000 |
| St. Erth—St. Ives |
37,000 |
| Truro—Falmouth |
78,000 |
Undertakings to pay grant in 1970 are being issued in respect of the following services outside the London commuter network:
| Eastern Region of British Railways |
| York—Selby—Doncaster/Hull (local service) |
136,000 |
| Leeds—Barnsley—Sheffield |
245,000 |
| Leeds—Rotherham—Sheffield (local service) |
95,000 |
| Colchester—Clacton/Walton (local service) |
294,000 |
| London Midland Region of British Railways |
|
£ |
| Birmingham—Lichfield |
292,000 |
| Birmingham—Kidderminster—Worcester |
166,000 |
| Birmingham—Stourbridge—Kidderminster (including Stourbridge Town branch) |
156,000 |
| Birmingham—Lapworth—Stratford |
47,000 |
| Birmingham—Leamington Spa |
306,000 |
| Birmingham—Derby |
72,000 |
| Leamington—Stratford |
99,000 |
| Crewe—Chester |
44,000 |
| Chester—Llandudno—Holy-head |
511,000 |
| Liverpool (Exchange) — Ormskirk |
270,000 |
| Liverpool (Lime Street)—St. Helens—Wigan |
267,000 |
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|
Amount of Grant in 1970 |
| Liverpool Central (High Level)—Gateacre |
53,000 |
| (Liverpool Corporation are also contributing £53,000) Lancaster—Morecambe |
58,000 |
| Manchester — Warrington —Chester |
183,000 |
| *Manchester (Victoria)—Colne |
479,000 |
| *Manchester—Preston—Black-pool (North and South) |
666,000 |
| *Blackpool—Colne |
402,000 |
| New Brighton—Wrexham |
265,000 |
| *Preston—Windermere |
154,000 |
| *Preston—Barrow |
245,000 |
| Scottish Region of British Railways |
| Euston—Stranraer (boat trains)—16 months only) |
83,000 |
| Western Region of British Railways |
| Bristol—Worcester |
39,000 |
| Paddington—Westbury |
165,000 |
| *These services are to be reorganised in May, 1970, when fresh undertakings for the new services will be issued. |
| † The undertaking covers Crewe—Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury—Hereford and Hereford—Cardiff services until 3rd May, 1970. From then, subject to my approval, a single service Cardiff — Newport—Hereford—Shrewsbury—Crewe will be introduced. |
LIST 2
Undertakings to pay grant until the end of 1971 at latest are being issued in respect of the following services. If the services are withdrawn before the end of 1971 the grant will, of course, cease.
|
Amount of grant in 1970 |
|
£ |
| Keswick—Carlisle |
95,000 |
| Bury—Rawtenstall |
104,000 |
| Haltwhistle—Alston |
43,000 |
| Watford—Croxley Green |
38,000 |
| Inverness—Kyle of Lochalsh |
179,000 |
| Huddersfield—Wakefield |
47,000 |
| Oldham—Rochdale section of Manchester—Oldham—Rochdale service (for whole service) |
469,000 |