§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Transport whether he will meet the chairman of British Railways within the next month and discuss with him the possibility of a 10 per cent. reduction in all rail and freight charges for a period of one month to ascertain to what extent such a reduction in charges would be offset by the increase in passenger and freight usage.
§ Mr. FowlerIt is a matter for the board to consider the levels at which charges should be fixed, in the light of the need to keep within Government subsidy for passenger services and to ensure that the non-passenger railway breaks even. However, the board already has a very wide range of national and local reduced fares schemes, such as the family rail card, and Sir Peter Parker has announced that the board plans to freeze passenger 479W fares for the rest of this year, provided that fuel prices remain reasonably stable.