§ Mr. Simon CoombsTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport how he proposes to ensure that the benefits of the channel tunnel are shared by people and industry in Swindon and the south-west.
§ Mr. FreemanBritish Rail has the statutory responsibility for planning and running rail services in the United Kingdom, including those which will use the channel tunnel. Its initial response to the recent proposal from the Transport Users Consultative Committee for western England for a major upgrading of the Reading-Ashford route for channel tunnel services to and from the west indicated that it is confident that its current plans for such services for 1993 will meet the needs of the west country.