Rachael Maskell
Today’s announcement will be a bitter blow to my constituents and the local economy in York, not least because we all know, and the Secretary of State knows, that the trans-Pennine route upgrade will not have the necessary capacity to deliver the rail speeds and connectivity that we need. Will he publish the capacity of that route so that we can understand how my constituents can move west in a timely way?
Grant Shapps
Yes, I will. The capacity figures are in the document itself. I do not want the hon. Lady to go away from this Chamber and inadvertently mislead her constituents. Journey times from York to Manchester, which are 55 minutes today, will be 28 minutes. There will be a dramatic improvement, and it would be extraordinary if she described that as bad news.
[Official Report, 18 November 2021, Vol. 703, c. 749.]
Letter of correction from the Secretary of State for Transport:
An error has been identified in my response to the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell).
The correct information should have been:
Grant Shapps
Yes, I will. The capacity figures are in the document itself. I do not want the hon. Lady to go away from this Chamber and inadvertently mislead her constituents. Journey times from York to Manchester, which are 83 minutes today, will be reduced by 28 minutes to 55 minutes. There will be a dramatic improvement, and it would be extraordinary if she described that as bad news.