Mr (Slough)
(Lab):...This is a well-timed opportunity to talk
about the western rail link to Heathrow, as next week a new
all-party group to support the case for and the delivery of the
scheme will have its inaugural meeting. As co-chair of the
western rail link to Heathrow stakeholder steering group, along
with the right hon. Member for Newbury (Richard Benyon), I want
to take this opportunity to invite all hon. Members to join the
APPG. The group consists of representatives from Network Rail,
Thames Valley Berkshire local enterprise partnership, Slough
Borough Council, Heathrow Express, Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd,
Great Western Railway, British Airways and the Department for
Transport. Its aim is to promote and support the delivery of a
direct rail link between Slough and Heathrow before 2024...
(Eastbourne)
(LD):...I have spoken a lot about the importance of
rail. I make no apologies for that, because I have always
believed that it is a crucial game-changer for my town. The usual
trains take an hour and 25 minutes to an hour and 30 minutes. If
I could get that down to an hour and 10, it would make life so
much easier to keep Eastbourne growing in the positive and
prosperous manner for which I have worked so hard for so many
years. I look forward to the chairman of Transport for the South
East, Councillor Keith Glazier, working with me, together with
all of us, to keep the pressure on Govia Thameslink Railway and
Southern rail to ensure that they keep improving. It is
absolutely vital that the industrial issues and dreadful problems
we had for one reason or another for 18 months or two years on
the line from Eastbourne to London and back, and on other parts
of the network, do not reoccur. I will be working on and watching
that very closely...
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op): Does the Minister recognise that Transport
for the North was absolutely clear that it wanted the
electrification of the Transpennine route? The Secretary of State
denied that opportunity to TfN. While the Government have created
spaces for dialogue, they certainly have not given power, which
is what devolution has to be about...
...The rail network always dominates the debate, and its
fragmentation creates barriers not only between the London and
south-east footprints, but within the south-east, which has
hosted a plethora of rail operators over time. The lack of
capacity is straining the infrastructure, but the Government have
been too slow in managing the avoidable mismanagement of the
services, not least on Govia Thameslink Railway. We are nine
months on from the publication of the Gibb report, whose
importance has been mentioned in the debate. It is important for
the Minister to update the House on progress that the Government
have made with the recommendations in the report...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
(Jesse Norman): The hon. Lady will know that TfN became
a statutory body literally weeks ago. These are very early days.
There remains a role for national policy making where issues of
cost and benefit, passenger satisfaction and the proper spending
of public money are in play—that is entirely as it should be. The
key point is that TfN exists and is functioning. It is working
hard to reflect the interests of the constituencies and the
economic priorities of its diverse region, which we massively
welcome...
...In addition, the Government are investing £2.2 billion
in major road schemes on the strategic road network in London and
the south-east of England, and investing substantially in rail
schemes such as Thameslink and Crossrail, which has been
mentioned, and in transformational local schemes such as the £850
million improvement—I do not think we have any hon. Members from
Berkshire here—to Reading station. The Department is also
investing £1.2 billion to improve local transport through
maintenance and small improvements, as well as large local
schemes such as the £56 million towards the Combe Valley Way link
road between Hastings and Bexhill, which has helped reduce
congestion and supported growth in the area...
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