§ Mr. HardyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes have occurred during the last 10 years in the share and volume of traffic carried on railways within the United Kingdom; and what detailed policies he is pursuing to promote this form of transportation.
§ Mr. FreemanFigures for rail passenger and freight traffic are published in tables 1.1 and 1.9 of Transport Statistics Great Britain 1992 (HMSO), a copy of which is in the Library.
Rail passenger kilometres increased by 12 per cent. between 1981 and 1991 while tonne kilometres fell by 13 per cent. The rail share of passenger kilometres fell slightly from 7 to 6 per cent. while the rail share of tonne kilometres fell from 10 to 7 per cent.
The White Paper, "New Opportunities for the Railways" published in July 1992, set out the Government's proposals for making better use of railways.