§ Mr. Normantonasked the Secretary of State for Industry what proportion of postal traffic is transported by rail and what proportion by road; and whether there has been any change of this routing during the last two years.
§ Mr. Gregor MackenzieThe Post Office tells me that at present nearly three-quarters of all letters and more than four-fifths of parcels are carried by rail for the principal part of their journey. Over the past two years there has been a marginal transfer of letters from rail to road and air services where a better service to customers could thereby be achieved or where rail facilities could no longer be provided. Similarly the road-borne element for parcels has increased from 9 per cent. to 18 per cent.