Oral Answers to Questions — Railways – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 10 November 1947.
Mr Joseph Sparks
, Acton
12:00,
10 November 1947
asked the Minister of Transport what steps are being taken to improve traffic operations on the four main line railways, with particular reference to mineral and merchandise traffic.
Mr James Callaghan
Parliamentary Secretary (Ministry of Transport)
Railway freight traffic is about 20 per cent. higher than in 1938, but the number of wagons available is about 15 per cent. less. Measures have been taken to speed up the repair of wagons, and the number repaired each week is now more than double the prewar level. A substantial programme for building new wagons is in hand. Special steps are also being taken to secure quicker turn-round. By the end of this month 700 Austerity locomotives will have been brought back from the Continent. Priority has been given to building new freight locomotives. Additional billeting accommodation for railwaymen is being made available in London. These measures together will, I am confident, considerably improve the performance of the railways, which is already good.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
