(Frome and East Somerset)
(LD):...As we have heard, the work at Old Oak Common will be
hugely impactful on the south-west for at least the next seven
years. A month from work starting, however, councils, MPs,
businesses and interest groups are only just being notified of
the impact on services. That is a totally unacceptable approach
to public consultation. This work is meant to last for seven
years or more. For us in Frome and East Somerset, it follows 10
years of disruption to our rail services from the electrification
of the main line and the construction of the Elizabeth line. The
new project will affect approximately 56 million passenger
journeys a year through Paddington and will push people on to
other lines, such as South Western
Railway, which cannot handle the passengers it has at
the moment, let alone the numbers it would need to handle to
avoid disruption...
Mr (Wimbledon) (LD):...Ensuring
that this project is well managed, on time and clearly
communicated is key not only to minimising disruption and
reducing the economic impact, but to rebuilding public trust in
large-scale infrastructure projects across the UK. We must begin
tackling other failings in our transport network, including the
unacceptably poor provision of transport in Wales and the west.
That is why it is critical that the open access rights that
FirstGroup
recently purchased for Carmarthen to London Paddington services
are protected under rail nationalisation, and why the Government
must invest in other railway schemes in the south-west, the
midlands railways hub, and the north Wales main line...
To read the whole debate, OPEN HERE
