asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state (1) the loadfactor of current supplied on the experimental running service of the Drumm train between Inchicore and Hazelhatch; (2) the estimated loadfactor on the Bray-Dublin experimental line; (3) the actual loadfactor of current supplied in the last tests; (4) the loadfactor on traction supply (Dublin) other than for the Drumm train; (5) whether the prices of current to Celia, Ltd., are calculated on a loadfactor basis or at a flat rate; and (6) how the price of Celia, Ltd., current for Drumm trains compares with Dublin traction price on a loadfactor or maximum demand basis.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Loadfactor on Drumm Train
Celia, Ltd., have not made any arrangements to purchase current for traction purposes, and therefore parts (5) and (6) of the question do not arise.
In order to ascertain the possibility of preparing the information requested in parts (1) and (3), it would be necessary to carry out a lengthy investigation of old records.
The estimated loadfactor requested in part (2) cannot be determined until a decision has been reached concerning the number and frequency of the trains. This decision may not be reached for some time.
The loadfactor for the Dublin United Tramways Company supply, which is the chief traction load in Dublin, is about 47 per cent.
Is the Minister serious in stating that the estimated loadfactor could not be arrived at based on a single run?
You might get a loadfactor for a single run by segregating items in connection with the run from the general supply to Inchicore, but that would take a lot of doing?
The reason I asked the question was because of the possibility of the Minister not being able to give the estimated loadfactor for a particular period, but surely the Minister could get the ratio between the maximum current available at any given time and the amount that would be taken for a particular run, and on that basis give the loadfactor.
Give the loadfactor under which part of the question?
Part 3.
No. That refers to "the last tests," not to one of the last tests.
Will the Minister be able to get these particulars for me if I write to him and deal with the matter by correspondence?
I could not promise that unless I knew the purpose of this question so that I could make up my mind as to what value it would be to anyone to get this information. I think that ordinarily it would be wrong to put the Great Southern Railways to the trouble of segregating the items that would have to be segregated to get the answer.
Surely the Minister is not going to tell the House that he intends running an electrical train service between Dublin and Bray for a considerable period and does not know what the loadfactor is going to be. The Minister does know what the loadfactor is for the Tramway Co. and has given a figure. I want to know what the other loadfactor will be so that I can know what the total loadfactor will be to see what other current will be available.
The Deputy is now on another part of the question. When he put his first supplementary I asked the Deputy what part of the question he was referring to and he said part 3. He is now talking about trains which are run on the Bray line. That matter is very much in the future. The answer to that part of the question will depend upon the frequency of the service and the number of trains to be run. No decision has been taken on that yet.
Would the Minister undertake to get the loadfactor for any particular run of the first Drumm battery train?
Of the old train?
Yes.
No. I do not think there is such value to the public in answering the question as would justify me in asking the Great Southern Railway people to go through the old records to get this information. If the Deputy can give me any reason why the information should be got I will look into it.
Surely the Minister does not pretend that there will be any great difficulty in looking up the records of the run of the train for any particular day, and of saying what the loadfactor was in that particular day. There is no difficulty in that. The Minister who is usually so helpful in his answers to many of my questions wants now to know beforehand what I am getting at when I ask a question. If he would say that he would be a little more polite in the future and a little more anxious to give information I would write to him and ask him for those particulars and what he is aiming at. He must remember his own history in the House in connection with all these questions. Does the Minister know, or does anyone know, the loadfactor of the Drumm battery train?
I would not undertake on account of the Deputy's speech to give him any information on the point.
Would the Minister state when he anticipates the service on the Dublin-Bray line will commence?
When?
Yes.
I am not going to say.
Is the Minister aware that the Chairman of the Great Southern Railways stated at the annual meeting of the company in April last that the service would commence in May?
I would have to ask the Chairman of the Great Southern Railways what he had in mind when he made that statement. I do not know.
When the service starts on the line will the Minister travel on the train as far as Dundrum?
It will take the Deputy at least so far.