§ Mr. Prescottasked the Secretary of State for Transport what were the total railway track miles and route miles open in each of the years from 1963 to 1983; and how many miles there were of single track.
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§ Mr. RidleyThe information is as follows:
British Rail standard gauge railway open at year end (miles) Year Route *Track †Single-line route 1963 16,982 46,434 — 1964 15,991 44,080 — 1965 14,920 41,355 — 1966 13,721 38,464 — 1967 13,172 36,498 — 1968 12,447 33,976 — 1969 12,098 32,475 — 1970 11,799 31,281 — 1971 11,643 30,716 — 1972 11,444 29,869 — 1973 11,326 29,387 — 1974 11,289 29,268 — 1975 11,258 28,873 3,304 1976 11,189 28,700 3,275 1977 11,168 28,576 3,251 1978 11,123 28,322 3,247 1979 11,020 27,592 3,162 1980 10,964 27,268 3,175 1981 10,831 26,570 3,090 1982 10,706 26,105 3,003 1983 10,541 25,664 3,033 * Includes running lines and sidings. † Information on single-line routes not readily available before 1975.