Great Eastern Main Line

Ben Gummer Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Westminster Hall

[Ben Gummer (Ipswich) (Con)]

Setting aside the usual form, Mr Turner, it is a genuine pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I hope, in this short Adjournment debate, to outline the case for investment in the Great Eastern main line.

I know that you are aware of the possibilities in East Anglia, Mr Turner—you have some knowledge of the area—but just to recap, we have in Norwich one of the largest agglomerations of scientific research and development in the country; just down the road from Ipswich, in Martlesham, we have the largest European centre of research and development in software; and we have the largest port in Britain in Felixstowe. Up and down the line we have centres of engineering and technical excellence that complement the amazing growth of Cambridge in our next-door county. Taken together, the counties of this region comprise the second largest contributor to the United Kingdom Exchequer of all UK regions and, indeed, it is one of only two regions that make a net contribution to Her Majesty’s Treasury. This region is already contributing significantly to British growth, jobs and prosperity, but herein lies the problem.

Although we are contributing significantly and growing—indeed, we grew throughout the recession—there is so much more that we could do, if only we had decent infrastructure connections. That is the miracle of East Anglia. It is not so much that all this is going on, but that we have achieved it with the oldest carriages, one of the slowest lines and some of the most expensive tickets for people going to Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich. All that has been achieved, despite the lack of both a motorway and that critical train line.

That is the context of the Chancellor’s visit to Norwich this time last year, when we proposed to him a significant upgrade in railway infrastructure. He commissioned a task force, which I was happy to serve on, under the chairmanship of my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith). That task force was able to bring together critical elements that had been lacking so far, including a broad, robust engineering research project into what was needed to bring additional services, improved reliability and increased speed to the London to Norwich line. We developed such a study to the demanding criteria of the Department for Transport. That is the basis of the report, which was delivered to the Chancellor last week.

In short, the proposal is for an investment in infrastructure of approximately £476 million, allied with a commitment that the 2016 franchise include investment in new rolling stock, not just for the inter-city carriages going all the way to Norwich, but for the suburban and commuter lines that run in between Essex and London and some running between Ipswich and London. Taken together, that new rolling stock and investment in infrastructure will add the capacity, speed and reliability improvements that we need so desperately on our line. At the conclusion of that investment, we would have new rolling stock running at 60 minutes, or just under, to Ipswich and 90 minutes to Norwich, and three services an hour to Norwich and four to Ipswich, with much better reliability than commuters have, sadly, had to put up with recently.

This is a bold proposal, but not extravagant. We are not asking for High Speed 4, but we are asking for a decent railway that will take commuters and business people and travellers reliably, comfortably, safely and quickly between the world’s financial capital and our great regional centres. That is the basis of our demand. We expect to be able to produce in return a potential economic delivery of £4.5 billion, which is almost 10 times the amount of the original investment by the Department, should that be secured—one of the highest gross value added scores achieved by any rail project or proposal yet put before the Treasury.

People may ask, “If this is so blindingly obvious, given the huge economic return, why has it not happened before?” It has not happened so far because the region has lacked the political purpose to be able to deliver such a project. That is what is new. We have brought together local authorities, both district and county, and the New Anglia local enterprise partnership, and the Essex LEP. I should like to put on the record the excellent way the New Anglia LEP has co-ordinated the proposals and the excellent drive it is currently giving to Norfolk and Suffolk, which is delivering real benefits for our counties.

We also brought together all the region’s Members of Parliament. That, too, is different. There was not previously the drive—crucially, a cross-party drive— from representatives in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex that now exists. Our beloved coalition colleague, the hon. Member for Norwich South (Simon Wright), has joined us here and we also had helpful interventions from our colleague, the hon. Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell). This has been a cross-party job, with all of us working together—councils, businesses and MPs—to put a coherent case for our constituents. If this investment is secured, we can deliver increased prosperity and more jobs— 10,000 more in my constituency—for our constituents. Most importantly, those will be high-value jobs, with people investing in high-value businesses in Ipswich, Norwich, Colchester and up and down the line. That is exciting.

I ask the Minister to confirm that she has seen the report and understands what we are asking for, and that she is going to lobby the Treasury for what is possibly one of the most exciting rail projects on her Department’s desk.

Although I have said that this is a cross-party arrangement, we have had a difficult time getting coherence from Labour party representatives in the region. The candidate for Norwich South favours full renationalisation of the railways. The candidate for Norwich North proposes that public bodies be allowed to bid for rail franchises, as Opposition Front Benchers have suggested; however, it is sad to see that the Opposition are not represented in this debate on an important matter for our region. That prompts me to conclude that if there were to be a Labour Government and significant legislative change, everything we are proposing would not just be put at risk: it would not happen. The project has to start in 2016—we have one window in control period five and at the beginning of control period six—if we are to succeed in getting new rolling stock ahead of the implementation of disability regulations in 2020.

We have to get this investment now. I know that both the Chancellor and the Department, which we have talked to, understand, yet the noises we hear from Labour suggest that they would first want to undertake a massive reorganisation of the rail industry. Frankly, if they do they will be unable to commit to a new franchise being let in 2016, nor to the kind of investment that is needed. Has the Minister received any representations from Opposition Front Benchers about this project? Do they support it and regard it as valuable? The candidate for my seat has said, in a cavalier fashion, that he cannot believe that a future Labour Government would go back on any proposals accepted by this coalition Government. I am sure the shadow Chancellor would be interested to know about the costed proposal that has been dumped in his lap, but, frankly, we have not heard about that from Opposition Front Benchers either. We accept that it is a large amount of money. It is a significant piece of investment, but it is not extravagant and it is needed. For true cross-party support on this, we need to have not only the commitment of this Government—they have been most helpful in allowing us to bring forward these proposals—but the cast-iron commitment of the shadow Chancellor that he would carry forward this investment, should there be a Labour Government in 2015. We do not only need that; we need the cast-iron commitment of the shadow Transport Secretary that there would be no top-down reorganisation of the rail industry, which would make all this impossible.

I raise those points only because they are the one fly in the ointment, and it is a wonderful ointment. It will make a significant difference to our region and to Norwich, Ipswich and towns in Essex. It will allow us to release our full potential as a key driver of the British economy. Most importantly to us as Members of Parliament representing mixed constituencies, it will give opportunities for jobs and prosperity to people who have so far been left behind, not just by previous Governments, but by previous representatives in our seats. That is why it is so important to us to achieve the investment now, for the good of our constituencies, our region and our people.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Claire Perry]

It is a great shame, but it does not surprise me.

The Government will now be asking Network Rail how to progress the detailed development of the case that has been eloquently made for the line-speed changes, using the funding provided in the current rail investment strategy, to fund the best-value-for-money elements for completion by 2019. The opportunity for shorter journey times will be included in the development of the franchise to 2016, which is to be awarded from October of that year onwards. That could lead to bidders for the new franchise being asked specifically in their proposals how to address the requirements set out in the “Norwich in 90” report, in particular the totemic achievement of the 90-minute travel time. We propose to publish the consultation for the next East Anglia franchise on 1 December 2014, so it is an important time for anyone who wants to make further representations. In future franchise competitions, we expect bidders to give weight to both financial and quality considerations of rolling stock, focusing on passengers.

It is an exciting time for the rail industry across the UK. I heartily welcome the report, which represents an excellent forensic analysis of what can be unlocked with relatively small investment. I look forward to working with colleagues in taking the recommendations forward.

[Ben Gummer]

Does the Minister agree that letting the franchise in 2016 is a critical moment for ordering new rolling stock? If that were delayed, the report’s contents could not be delivered.

[Claire Perry]

My hon. Friend will be reassured to know that the new franchising timetable that my Department has put in place is running like clockwork—like a punctual train—so we anticipate that we will stick to the timetable.