(7 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberI will happily look into the matter that the hon. Lady raises. It is actually the responsibility of the Department for Communities and Local Government, but I will take it up with my ministerial colleagues.
In view of the increasing number of passengers and employees using Stansted airport, the growth of the Cambridge biomedical campus, the prospect of Crossrail 2, the announcement of major housing developments and the welcome prospect of new, high-performance trains, what plans has my hon. Friend for increasing track capacity on the West Anglia line to take advantage of those factors?
(8 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberThe importance of connectivity to our airports has long been underestimated in transport policy, and that certainly applies to the Leeds-Bradford connection. I think that we should be positive about the fact that work is being done to establish how we can improve connectivity, but I suggest that the hon. Gentleman join the campaign that is being run by my hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey (Stuart Andrew).
I warmly welcome the prospectus offering new rail passenger services in London and the south-east. It states, on page 26, that
“Crossrail 2 would move inner suburban services onto new tracks”,
thus improving those services. However, there is no plan to try to run this enhanced metro on the current rickety two-track system, which means further delays in train services from outer suburban stations. Can my right hon. Friend reassure me about that?