§ LORD NUGENT OF GUILDFORDasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give a table of comparative costs for transport across the English Channel for both passenger and freight by road or rail vehicle, either by roll-on, roll-off sea ferry, both conventional ship and hovercraft, or by air, or by the proposed Channel Tunnel.
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE, FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (LORD SHEPHERD)I regret that Her Majesty's Government are not in a position to provide the information requested by the noble Lord, much of which is confidential to the operators concerned. However, previous studies have indicated that the costs of the Channel Tunnel would enable it to operate profitably at tariff levels substantially below those of sea and air links across the Channel. Up-to-date information about cross-Channel transport costs and charges will be sought in the course of the final studies which will precede the decision whether to build the Tunnel. Freight transport costs and charges are then likely to be considered with particular care in view of developments in recent years.
House adjourned at thirteen minutes before ten o'clock.