Oral Answers to Questions

Aaron Bell Excerpts

Thursday 11th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Damien Moore (Southport) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to invest in rail infrastructure projects in the north-west.

[Aaron Bell (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to increase rail connections in the north of England.

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Andrew Stephenson)]

The Government are committed to levelling up rail infrastructure across the north. In that spirit, I am delighted to confirm that we have awarded £137 million to Network Rail to complete detailed design and deliver the Hope Valley capacity scheme. The scheme will transform journeys between the northern powerhouse cities of Manchester and Sheffield by removing bottlenecks on the Hope Valley line. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Robert Largan), who has campaigned relentlessly for the scheme since he was elected and has helped to get it over the line.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Stephenson]

Fresh from securing £37.5 million for the towns deal for Southport in the Budget, I understand that yesterday my hon. Friend met the Rail Minister once again to make the case for his local rail services, as he has consistently done since he was elected. I can assure him that the industry taskforce will be doing its utmost to address the concerns he has raised while preserving the core aim of producing a simplified timetable that all passengers can rely on.

[Aaron Bell]

Newcastle-under-Lyme is the second largest town in the UK without a railway station of its own, and if the Minister gives my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley North (Marco Longhi) what he wants, we will be up to No. 1. Keele University is the only major British university without a railway station nearby. Will the Minister welcome the bid that I have submitted to the Restoring Your Railway ideas fund that would solve both those problems with a station in Newcastle and one at Silverdale for Keele University? Will he meet me to discuss the bid so that I can show him some of the details of how it will benefit my constituency?

[Andrew Stephenson]

My hon. Friend makes a very strong case for his constituency. As he correctly points out, the £500 million Restoring Your Railway fund is one of the many ways in which we are intending to level up the country and build back better. The Rail Minister, as chair of the panel, looks forward to reviewing the bid that my hon. Friend has submitted, and I know he would be happy to meet him to discuss the proposals further.