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 Mr John Sutcliffe Mr John Sutcliffe , Middlesbrough West 12:00, 5 Rhagfyr 1973

I accept that correction. Unfortunately, the Labour Party was unable today to offer any alternative, which surprised me since it is opposing this project. However, my hon. Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr. Crouch) is undoubtedly worried, as are other Kent Members, about what is to happen. If my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Dover were to ask me rather than the Opposition about the alternatives, I would say that there is an alternative. I shall now try briefly to expatiate upon it. But I have no doubt that Ministers know about it, and surely they will tell me why such an alternative has been dismissed.

The German railways operate a rolling highway system which carries lorries. It runs from Cologne to Ludwigsburg, which is near Stuttgart, and also from Cologne to Verona in Italy. The basis of this system is a specially designed low-loading rail wagon with wheels of 30 cms. diameter, which is about 1 ft. The design enables most normal lorries to be carried on the wagons and to pass through the standard Berne gauge tunnels, especially on the route into Italy, where the tunnels are smaller than in Germany. The maximum size of lorry which can be carried is 3.6 m. high, about 12 ft., and the maximum width is 2.5 m., which is just over 8 ft. That dimension would be compatible with regulations in the United Kingdom. I understand that there are no special weight constraints.

If the Channel Tunnel were to adopt the Berne gauge system it would make possible a shuttle service as is now contemplated for road vehicles but not just from Folkestone to Calais but from, for instance London to Lille and beyond. That would obviate all the environmental problems of the South-East at a stroke, and, more to the point, it would effect the saving which I mentioned earlier of between, I gather, £300 million and £500 million on the design as at present proposed. Unless there is some explanation for the Governments rejecting this system, it would appear that we are spending that amount to carry a few lorries—and they are a few—of between 11.8 ft. and 13.12 ft. in height. The expenditure works out at about £20 million per inch of extra lorry height. I have here a piece of string which shows the extra height which would fail to get through the tunnel. Such lorries would be only a fraction of the 15 per cent. which would be the proportion of the total tunnel traffic which would be heavy commercial vehicles. By spending a fraction of £20 million, and by converting sections of the old Great Western Railway to the Berne gauge, it should be possible to have lorry shuttle service terminals in, for example, Bristol, Merseyside or Teesside instead of taking all vehicle traffic through Kent and along the roads into Kent.

I shall be grateful if my right hon. Friend will tell me why, on consideration, the Berne gauge design and system has not been favoured.

I return briefly to the points which I made at the beginning of my remarks. There are new factors—namely, the oil situation and the emphasis which the Government are now giving to rail instead of road. The principle which Article 5 of the treaty lays down—namely, nondiscrimination between road and rail—needs to be overridden in the Bill. There should be power to discriminate in favour of rail traffic.