(CB):...In October last, as Prime Minister promised an HSR link linking
Liverpool to Hull via Manchester and Leeds. I can confirm the
need for that. Just a few days ago, after a football match, I
travelled on the comically misnamed Transpennine Express
from Liverpool to Leeds, that modest distance taking almost one
and a half hours. No surprise: the train was five minutes late
departing. My short wait was accompanied—as invariably is the
case in stations these days—by public announcements that two
trains had been abruptly cancelled: one to Warrington, the second
to Blackpool North. Is this a
“modern, well-functioning transport network”?
(Lab):...My
Lords, I will speak about Britain’s railways and in doing so
remind the House of my interests as chair of the Great
Western Railway stakeholder advisory board, president of
the Heritage Railway Association and co-author of three books on
railways and politics which attracted favourable reviews from
Members of your Lordships’ House, two of whom I am happy to see
in their place this evening...
...Despite this negative background, growth and passenger demand
is back. While business travel and commuting numbers are still
down compared with those before Covid, leisure travel is booming
and trains are full again, particularly on routes such as the
east coast main line and Great Western. New
figures from Hull Trains
published last week showed a very strong recovery in journey
levels, with 28% more people now travelling with that operator
than before the pandemic...
