NO QUICK MOVE OVER B.T.C.
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RESHUFFLE
FROM OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
IUNDERSTAND that it is now unlikely that the Bill to alter the structure of the railways and the British Transport Commission will make its appearance during the next six months. It is obviously being held up by Mr. Marples' new study group (foreshadowed in the Parliamentary debate last week) and the intense scrutiny to which the modernization plan is being subjected.
Nothing is more significant than the way Mr. Marples and Mr. Hay have put the modernization expenditure side by side with the expenditure on roads. It is obvious that, with the growing emphasis on the roads, Mr. Marples is being tempted to abandon or at least to cut down some of the more ambitious schemes, like the London-Midlands electrification, in favour of spending the same money on roads—and a lot of roads could be built for the .€160m. that this scheme would cost.
It is still possible that the Bill will make its appearance in the second half of this Session, perhaps midway through next summer.