Orders of the Day — Channel Tunnel Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 5 Rhagfyr 1973.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Sir Douglas Dodds-Parker Sir Douglas Dodds-Parker , Cheltenham 12:00, 5 Rhagfyr 1973

I shall come to that in a moment. If the Channel Tunnel were not built, the probability is that 3,800 acres would be needed to cater for the people crowding into the Channel ports and trying to put vehicles on the cross-Channel ferries. At the worst, electric traction on rail from areas north and west of London will take a substantial part of the traffic that would otherwise have to go by road.

After going into the matter for a number of years, I feel that there will be room for all types of traffic. The airports—Maplin, Heathrow and others-will be needed for intercontinental traffic and freight. Freight traffic is increasing, as anyone who visits the air freight port at Heathrow will know, for it is now the second biggest port in the country. The ships will be needed for traffic from the Midlands, to Ireland and south-west to the Continent. There will be a considerable use of ships from other than the Kent ports. The roads have an important part to play in feeder services, with the liner trains coming into their own when they are operated by British Rail as a through service to the Continent.

The point has rightly been made that there must be an overall transport system with co-ordination of rail and road. The matter is being considered by the Transport Committee of the European Parliament and the European Commission. I am not a member of the committee, but I see many of its papers. I believe that both road and rail have a vital part to play.

In the meantime, we must make the best possible use of the existing and future facilities of the railway, which has access to city centres that no road system has. That is the first point in developing the railway system.

The second is to spread the load by loading at various centres along the main railway lines. Here I come to the point of my hon. Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr. Crouch). With through freight, speed is important, but the saving of double handling and avoiding delays in crossing the Channel are particularly important. With some expensive or perishable freight they may make the difference between carrying out the operation profitably or not.

The tunnel should take many of the juggernauts off our congested roads. Some may ask "How?". I got into trouble 18 months ago in one of the European debates by talking about differential freight rates. I am told that they are contrary to the European agreements. But motorail and freight liners, by offering through freights from where the goods are made to where they will be sold, and by properly adjusted rates, can solve many of the problems worrying my hon. Friend and those who live in the South-East. We could also make much better use of manpower if one through train replaced 60 to 100 individual units on the road.

I have no particular information on the matter, but such a policy must be under consideration by British Rail now that the Government have decided in principle to go ahead with the tunnel. If the policy is carried out along the lines I have suggested, we can overcome many of the legitimate fears of the conservationists, particularly in Kent, which we all agree is a beautiful part of the country, second only to the Cotswolds. With modern electronic control, it is easy to load at off-city-centre points near the sources of the traffic, as is done, for instance, in Castle Bromwich, where traffic is loaded to go to Scotland overnight on the motorail service.

I support my right hon. Friend's proposals for a Government half share in the profits, which are estimated to be as much as £100 million to £200 million a year by 1990. That is not so very long ahead, only as many years ahead as 1973 was when we had the last oil crisis in 1956. This is a good commercial opportunity for the country to take in return for the guarantee and the concession.

I agree that the oil shortage is here to stay for quite a long time. Whatever the outcome of the present negotiations and difficulties, the tunnel can help to alleviate that shortage by the end of the decade. It can also reduce road congestion, if proper use is made of planning powers. Much can be done to deal with pollution and protect the environment, such as using electric traction and spreading loading along the main railway routes.

The tunnel is long overdue. My right hon. Friend's proposals are fair both economically and financially to the company and the country. I hope that the House will support them.