§ Mr. Huntasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the support he intends to provide for unremunerative railway passenger services in 1974 and about the future of those services which are under threat of closure.
§ Mr. PeytonI have undertaken to pay grant of £81 million to the Railways Board in respect of 1974 for these services under Section 39 of the Transport Act 1968.
A list of the services or groups of services to recive grant will be published in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
39WIt includes eight previously unaided services; they are:
- Edinburgh—Falkirk—Glasgow
- Glasgow—Aberdeen.
- Edinburgh—Aberdeen.
- Huddersfield—Wakefield.
- Liverpool—Wigan—Preston.
- Crewe—Chester.
- Swindon—Gloucester—Worcester.
- Didcot—Bristol.
In the light of the statement I made to Parliament on 28th November last—[Vol. 865, c. 397–9.]—I have decided that, in general, no closure of substance should take place before 1975, when the situation can be reviewed again. This will affect the following services which have been under threat of closure:
Services for which consent to closure has been given but the services have not yet been withdrawn
- Ashford—Hastings.
- Bedford—Bletchley.
- Colchester—Sudbury.
- Stonehouse Station (Glos.).
Services on which no decision has yet been taken
- Machynlleth—Pwllheli ("Cambrian Coast").
- Runcorn—Helsby—Chester.
- Stockport—Stalybridge.
- Wimbledon—West Croydon.
- East Brixton Station.
I have already announced I have decided to defer implementation of the Inverness—Kyle of Lochalsh closure, for which conditional consent has been given. The Haltwhistle—Alston closure will go ahead, but not until adequate road improvements—for which the Government are making additional funds available—and satisfactory alternative public transport have been provided.
I do not expect there to be any net increase in public expenditure in 1974–75 as a consequence of the deferment of these decisions.
I am still considering the future of the Maiden Newport—Bridport service and the board's applications to close the lines between Bradford-on-Avon Junction South and Thingley Junction, and between Turners Lane Junction and Calder Bridge Junction, Wakefield.