§ Mr. J. H. Osbornasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the renewal of grants for unremunerative railway passenger services.
§ Mr. PeytonI have renewed all the grant undertakings due for renewal at the end of 1972 for the services eligible for grant under Section 39 of the Transport Act 1968. This applies to the 122 individual services indicated below and to the London commuter network as a whole.
The total includes three currently-operating services for which statutory consent to closure has been given and for which grants have therefore been renewed on a temporary basis.
Fifty-four services operate wholly or partly within passenger transport areas. I understand that 15 of these will be supported by the passenger transport executives 104W concerned under agreements made with the Railways Board and will therefore be eligible for Exchequer grants under Section 20 of the Transport Act 1968. I expect that most of the remainder, for which the grant has been renewed under Section 39, will also be financially supported in part by the executives under the same agreements.
All renewed grant undertakings have been limited to a period of one year, since from 1st January 1974 financial support for loss-making railway services will be made mainly under EEC Regulation 1191/69. This change will involve some procedural adaptation to the present system but will not otherwise affect the Government's policy on the future of these services.
The renewal of grant for a further five services which have been proposed for closure will be considered in the light of the decision which is reached in each case.
In respect of services operating outside the London commuter network and the passenger transport areas, grant undertakings under Section 39 have been made for 1973 for the following services:—
105W
Estimated deficit 1973 £000s Southern Region of British Railways Bournemouth-Weymouth 655 Brighton-Ore and Branches 1,062 Brighton-Portsmouth 1,230 Portsmouth-Southampton-Salisbury Fareham-Eastleigh 907 Reading-Basingstoke-Salisbury 147 Reading-Redhill-Tonbridge 610 Eastern Region of British Railways Cambridge-Ipswich 302 Cambridge-King's Lynn 253 Cambridge-Norwich 249 Cleethorpes-Newark 145 Colchester-Clacton/Walton 392 Darlington-Bishop Auckland 190 Darlington-Saltburn 504 Doncaster-Cleethorpes 335 East Anglia-Midlands/North of England 733 Grantham-Nottingham 157 Hull-Bridlington-Scarborough 766 Ipswich-Lowestoft 371 Leeds-Goole 169 Leeds-Harrogate 279 Leeds-Huddersfield 179 Leeds-Hull 628 Leeds/Bradford-Ilkley *295 Leeds-Morecambe 503 Leeds-York 225 * The deficit is net of an estimated contribution from Bradford Corporation.
Estimated deficit 1973 £000s Middlesbrough-Whitby 312 Norwich-Lowestoft 190 Norwich-Cromer-Sheringham 179 Norwich-Yarmouth 224 Sheffield- Retford-Cleethorpes 233 Sheffield-Retford-Lincoln 331 York-Harrogate 220 York-Selby-Doncaster/Hull 288 York-Scarborough 543 Western Region of British Railways Barry Island-Treherbert/Merthyr 878 Bristol-Salisbury 204 Bristol-Weston-super-Mare-Taunton 268 Bristol-Weymouth 493 Cardiff-Bristol 153 Cardiff-Coryton 74 Cardiff-Gloucester 169 Cardiff-Penarth 87 Cardiff-Rhymney 417 Exeter-Salisbury 568 Hereford-Worcester 470 Oxford-Leamington 132 Paddington-Oxford 317 Reading-Westbury 292 Whitland-Pembroke Dock 134 Scottish Region of British Railways Ayr-Stranraer 323 Carlisle-Dumfries-Glasgow (local 73 Dalry-Kilwinning-Largs 449 Glasgow-Ayr 595 Glasgow-Barrhead 121 Glasgow-East Kilbride 406 Glasgow-Shotts-Edinburgh 480 Glasgow-Hamilton 514 Glasgow-Paisley-Kilmacolm 296 Glasgow-Lanark 428 Glasgow Suburban Electrics North 1,663 Glasgow Suburban Electrics South 1,320 Glasgow-Gourock/Wemyss Bay 1,043 Inverness-Wick/Thurso 665 Springburn-Cumbernauld 188 London Midland Region of British Railways Barrow-Whitehaven 177 Crewe-Stoke-Derby 411 Derby-Matlock 137 Derby-Nottingham 208 Kirkham-Blackpool South 322 Lancaster-Morecambe 79 Leamington Spa-Stratford 113 Leeds-Carlisle-Glasgow 179 Leicester-Peterborough 156 Nottingham-Leicester 65 Nottingham-Lincoln 239 Ormskirk-Preston 190 Preston-Barrow 358 Preston-Colne 577 Preston-Windermere 194 Rugby-Nuneaton-Stafford 135 Shrewsbury-Aberystwyth 502 Whitehaven-Carlisle 336 Grant undertakings under Section 39 have been made for 1973 for the following service:
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SERVICES OPERATING PARTLY WITHIN PASSENGER TRANSPORT AREAS Estimated deficit 1973 £000s SELNEC PTA Bradford-Manchester 641 Manchester-Blackburn 436 Manchester-Blackpool North 987 Manchester-Buxton 456 Manchester-Northwich-Chester 408 Manchester-Warrington-Chester 225 Manchester-Stockport-Crewe 504 Manchester-Styal-Crewe 358 Manchester-Chinley-Sheffield/Derby 148 Manchester-Stalybridge-Hudders-field 128 Manchester-Rose Hill/New Mills 475 Manchester-Bolton/Wigan-Southport 868 Manchester-Stafford 668 Merseyside PTA Birkenhead North/New Brighton-Wrexham 337 Liverpool-Crewe 359 Liverpool-Ormskirk 335 Liverpool (Exchange)-South-port 480 Liverpool-St. Helens-Wigan 438 RockFerry-Helsby/Chester 417 Services partly in Merseyside PTA and SELNEC PTA Leeds-Liverpool 291 Liverpool-Warrington-Manchester 742 Liverpool-Wigan-Bolton 384 Manchester-Patricroft-Liverpool 230 Tyneside PTA Newcastle-Carlisle 493 Newcastle-Middlesbrough/Darlington/York 782 York-Durham-Newcastle 274 West Midlands PTA Birmingham-Rugby-Coventry 365 Birmingham-Derby 98 Birmingham-Leamington Spa 350 Birmingham-Leicester 128 Birmingham-Lichfield 412 Birmingham-Stafford 127 Birmingham-Henley-Stratford 393 Birmingham-Lapworth-Stratford 66 Birmingham-Barnt Green-Worcester 13 Birmingham-Kidderminster-Worcester 401 Wolverhampton-Chester 597 Grant undertakings have been made on a temporary basis for the following services for which consent to closure has been given:
*Ashford-Hastings 237 Bedford-Bletchley 177 Haltwhistle-Alston 72 *Costs exclude replacement provisions and some joint costs.