asked the Minister of Transport if he will take steps to waive sections 54 and 56 of the Transport Act 1962 so that British Railways could reopen closed lines on an experimental and temporary basis without having to go through the costly and time-consuming procedure if the experiment fails.

The possibility of allowing the experimental re-opening of some passenger rail services may certainly merit consideration. However, this would require legislation and I have no powers at the moment to waive the present statutory closure procedures.