§ Dr. Hampsonasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about investment in British Rail's inter-city services.
§ Mr. David HowellThe Railways Board has identified an immediate business need for 60 Mark III day coaches. I have given consent to the board's proposal to order these coaches at a cost of £11.163 million at 1983 prices.
§ Dr. Hampsonasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on British Rail's inter-city prospectus.
§ Mr. David HowellIn his statement of 22 June 1981 — [Vol. 7, c. 21–22] — my predecessor asked the Railways Board to bring forward plans for an inter-city business that would achieve a fully commercial performance by 1985, and to start on the necessary changes immediately. On 30 November 1982, in a written reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire, South-West (Mr. Cormack)— [Vol. 33 c. 144] —I told the House that if the board submitted satisfactory proposals for the future of the inter-city business, the way would be clear for a decision on the electrification of the east coast main line. The board has recently submitted to me a prospectus for the inter-city business for the period to 1988. It is intended to show a "base case" without additional main line electrification, and so it does not include electrification proposals, which the board is putting to me separately. The prospectus sets out an interim strategy, which is being further reviewed and developed. It does not show the business achieving even a small profit before 1988. While the prospectus indicates some welcome progress, I have told the board that it does not yet provide the satisfactory path to profitability that is required. The board is working on a longer-term strategy for inter-city, which I hope to receive during the summer.