Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Claire Perry)
As always, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard) on securing this vital debate on train services to and from Blackpool North station. He has spoken eloquently about the opportunities and investment that Government plans for rail in the north of England have brought to the vital seaside resort of Blackpool and the rest of the region. I thank him for his words of support for the overall direction of the investment plan and hope that I will be able to address all of his points in the minutes left to me.
It is an exciting time for rail passengers in the north of England. My hon. Friend represents a beautiful constituency with an amazing huge, vaulted station, built in Victorian times to deal with the millions of people who travelled by rail to take their holidays in Blackpool. Frankly, like the rest of the country, his part of the world has suffered from years of under-investment in the rail network and in rolling stock, as he rightly pointed out. That is why I am so pleased that it is this Government who have set out plans to spend an unprecedented £38 billion on the rail network over the next five years—the biggest investment since Victorian times.
There will soon be two new rail franchise lets in my hon. Friend’s region, Northern and TransPennine Express. Shamefully, under the previous Government those franchises were let on a zero-growth, zero-investment basis. On my watch, they will be let absolutely on the basis that there will be more growth and investment to benefit passengers who travel to and from Blackpool North and right across the region. That is because the economy of the north is vital to the prosperity of this country, from the huge cities of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield to industrial and freight hubs such as Hull and cultural and tourist centres such as Blackpool. It is vital that we keep investing.
We will also continue to invest in the most significant rail modernisation programme for generations. As my hon. Friend mentioned, that includes the northern hub programme and the electrification of routes in the north-west, including the recently announced confirmation of electrification of the Windermere branch and the north TransPennine line between Manchester and York.
My hon. Friend asked about the timing of that electrification. I can confirm that the electrification from Preston to Blackpool is planned for early 2017, within this capital period. As he knows, the programme is complicated and the work has not been undertaken before, so it is absolutely right that sequencing is carried out. However, I can confirm that those are the current dates for the work.
My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has also set out his vision of a northern powerhouse, bringing together the cities of the north of England so that they can take on the world. That is why we are looking at electrification right across the region, as well as options for how we can create high-speed rail services in the north of England, plans dubbed “HS3”. That is how we are building a long-term economic plan for this vital region and the country as a whole.
As my hon. Friend rightly pointed out, we do not want to talk only about jam tomorrow; we want to talk about steps to improve and enhance services for his constituents now. Like him, I was delighted to welcome the launch of the Virgin Trains west coast direct service. It had not happened for the previous 11 years. I am told the service is well used—I know both he and my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mark Menzies) have taken it. It came about as a result of the Government’s negotiations with the operator of the new direct award franchise on the west coast.
My hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys asked whether the service would continue. That is an operational matter, but based on current traffic numbers and what the service’s bosses say, I cannot imagine that it would not be common sense to keep it running. It means that people from his constituency can get down to London on weekday mornings in time for a 9 o’clock meeting, albeit with a very early start. I know that Virgin worked hard with the Department to find a way to provide those services. Also, let us not forget the direct services to Shrewsbury that were secured at the same time.
My hon. Friend raised concerns about crowding on services from Blackpool and the implications of the transfer of the class 170 trains from TPE down to the leafy Chilterns. As he knows, that decision is a commercial one made by the private sector rolling stock operator, but it was vital that the Department worked with operators and the leasing company to make sure that current services could be maintained on the franchise.
My hon. Friend will know that some of the trains now running on his lines, the class 156 trains, are older. However, they look reasonable—I have looked at them—and will provide a significant increase in capacity on those vital lines, with about 2,500 more seats a day being provided from Blackpool to Manchester Airport station via Bolton. That is, of course, a relatively short-term solution until electrification continues across the whole network. I take his point about luggage capacity, which is very important for people travelling to and from airports and to Blackpool North. I hope that he will report back to me that people can get on with their cases, given that a little more space is being provided.
I believe that the solution is a decent one. It works, and it has an impact on crowding on the line. The new franchise, which will be let on the basis of new investment in the north, is the perfect time to take a look at the rolling stock solution for the region in the long term. The Pacers, as everyone from the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer has said, have served their time. There are other opportunities, particularly for electrified trains.
Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard) on securing the debate. He is a true advocate for rail transport on behalf of his constituents. When it comes to investment, I urge the Minister to look at Kirkham and Wesham station, where there is no disabled access lift. If we are improving services, we must improve them for disabled people, too, to ensure that they can access the trains from that busy station.
Claire Perry
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that vital point, and we will certainly look at that as part of the overall franchise specification. You and I have had many conversations about the Pacers, Mr Davies. I have seen them for myself and travelled on them, and I believe that passengers’ concerns are entirely justified.
Bidders on the Northern franchise will be expected to include plans to phase out the outdated Pacer trains. The exact details are being considered and will be contained in the invitation to tender, which is expected to be published shortly. The new franchise is the right time to set out the growth aspiration for routes right across the north, including those in my hon. Friends’ constituencies, and I am looking forward to making those announcements.
My hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys referred to the potential for services from Blackpool North to Manchester airport to be remapped, so that they would all fall under one franchise. The thinking behind the proposal was that it would allow the entire electric fleet to be managed by Northern, which might provide a more efficient solution for rail services. The consultation, published last year, included a specific question on that, and we have listened carefully to the responses.
No final decision has been taken, contrary to what my hon. Friend may have heard. We have had a number of representations. To be absolutely clear, I expect there to be no decline in service quality, regardless of any route mapping. It would not be acceptable to remap for operational efficiencies and expect passengers to suffer a downgraded service quality. That will not happen on my watch.
I wanted to reply to a couple of the other points that my hon. Friend raised. One point was about Blackpool’s voice within Rail North, and how loudly Blackpool could shout in that forum. I know that Blackpool stands up and punches above its weight in many other areas, so it would be entirely appropriate for the voice of Blackpool and the entire county to be heard. The intention of Rail North is to get closer to rail users so that decisions are made not by my very effective officials, but at a local level for the benefit of local people. I hope that Blackpool will have a strong voice in that process.
My hon. Friend raised a worrying concern about staff safety. I commend, as I am sure he does, the staff on the trains on dealing with circumstances that sound difficult. I will certainly raise that point directly with the head of the British Transport police, Paul Crowther. I will ask for a response to my hon. Friend’s letter and what can be done to improve staff safety.
My hon. Friend also asked about open access. I share his view on that, and we have many conversations about it in the Department, because I, too, see the benefits that it can bring. Of course, there are always challenges when we are looking at the overall package and letting franchises based on the revenue that might be available. I will not go any further than that, for fear of upsetting my officials.
In conclusion, I hope that my hon. Friend and other hon. Members have been reassured that the Government are passionate about the improvement required to rail services in the north of England, particularly in his constituency. The Government are listening to the needs of passengers. I have said before, and I will say again, that the railway is not simply a series of metal boxes on wheels being shunted around; it is about moving people around, to and from their holidays, jobs and families. It is vital that their needs are put at the heart of our decisions.
We are making investments in the region in tracks and rolling stock. I look forward to hearing from my hon. Friend in the next Parliament, should we both be lucky enough to be returned, about the impact that that is making on the vital economic performance of the area that I know he is proud to represent, and which he represents so assiduously.
Question put and agreed to.