Railways: High Speed 2
Debate between Lord Popat and Lord Snape(10 years, 8 months ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Snape
My Lords, I am grateful that the normal procedures of the House are being abided by. I strike a discordant note, as a supporter of this project, to say how disappointed I am—as I am sure many people in the Midlands and north will be—at the abandonment of the link between HS1 and HS2. Thirty years ago, during the passage of the Channel Tunnel Act, we were told that there would be through trains from Paris, Brussels and other continental cities to our great cities of the Midlands and the north. This was, at least, a chance for those through trains to run between those cities. How does the Minister suggest that a businessperson coming from the continent to the Midlands or the north gets between Euston and St Pancras? Do they take the Victoria or the Northern line? Or will they pull their luggage along Euston Road? Will the Minister accept from me that there will be a great deal of disquiet in many parts of the country about the abandonment of this link?
Railways: Reopenings
Debate between Lord Popat and Lord Snape
Lord Popat
My Lords, the council has submitted a bid for funding a parkway station on the Worcester to Oxford line. While the bids are being considered, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the merits of this scheme. Since privatisation the number of passengers travelling on our railways has gone up by 60%.
Lord Snape
My Lords, in this spirit of co-operation, I ask the Minister on his first appearance at the Dispatch Box to consider paying tribute to Mr Tony Speller, the former Conservative Member of Parliament for North Devon, who died recently, whose amendment to the Transport Act did so much to help to reverse some of the disastrous decisions that were taken following the Beeching proposals 50 years ago.
Lord Popat
My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord; we must pay tribute to him. I also pay tribute to my noble friend Lord Fowler, who, when he first became the Secretary of State in 1979, was the one who put a stop to the closure of railway stations.