Government Policy On Railways

EDM number 463 in 1991-92, proposed by Joan Ruddock on 13/01/1992.

That this House recognises that class distinction remains at the heart of Tory Party philosophy, as exemplified by the Minister for Public Transport's proposals for a cheap and cheerful, high-density rail service for typists and a more luxurious service for civil servants and businessmen; questions the underlying assumptions that typists, presumably the highly skilled female operators of dictaphones, word processors and computers, can make do with cramped and spartan conditions for their travel-to-work journey, while their bosses need comfort and luxury; recognises that levels of road congestion and pollution make the shift of passengers from road to rail imperative; accepts that such a shift will only occur if overcrowding is reduced, and standards of service, cleanliness, safety and punctuality improved for every rail traveller; and calls upon the Government to withdraw its plans for breaking up the network and get on with the vital task of comprehensively improving the whole of Britain's rail systems.

This motion has been signed by a total of 85 MPs.