Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Russell and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 5th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

Commuters from Colchester pay some of the highest fares in the country, and successive Governments have failed significantly to improve the railway infrastructure. Does the Secretary of State agree that without implementation of the East Anglia rail manifesto, whoever wins the Greater Anglia rail franchise will find difficulty in improving the service between Colchester and London?

[Mr McLoughlin]

We have just seen the launch of the new east coast main line franchise. It is committed to reducing the cost of rail tickets, and I hope that anyone who competes for the East Anglia franchise will come forward with new ideas that will not only increase the capacity on that line and improve rolling stock, but look at the cost of tickets.

Road Investment Strategy

Debate between Bob Russell and Lord McLoughlin

Monday 1st December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am not quite sure that I can keep up that pace. My hon. Friend may well have had his fair share of investment. He failed to say that the castle line he mentioned actually starts in Matlock.

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

Today’s changes at the Thames crossing mean a bigger rip-off for drivers. Will the Secretary of State say whether the 84 new schemes in the road investment strategy include the A120 east and west of Colchester and the A12 around Colchester?

[Mr McLoughlin]

I am not sure about the hon. Gentleman’s first point about the tolling on the Dartford crossing, because if people pre-register and sign up to the system, the amount they actually pay comes down. On the other roads he mentioned, the schemes are very clearly set out in the road investment strategy, as I have said, but if a part is missing I am sure that he will let me know.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Russell and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 23rd October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I would put the infrastructure record of this Government alongside the infrastructure investment of the previous Government any day. It would be shown to be far more substantial than anything ever planned by the previous Government. I have had the solid support of both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer in making sure we have available funds for infrastructure.

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

T4. Street lights provide safety for all, so will the Minister responsible for road safety confirm that turning off street lights at midnight results in added road safety risks for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Russell and Lord McLoughlin

Thursday 8th May 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

I simply say to the hon. Lady that this Government have announced the biggest investment programme in the railway industry that we have seen in this country and I am very proud of that. Of course there will always be problems. I think the Thameslink programme was actually Thameslink 2000 so it has overrun—that is certainly true—but at the end of the day we are going to get a far, far better commuter service for all the people in the areas served by that line.

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

Successive Governments have short-changed East Anglia. As somebody who uses the rail service from Colchester to London Liverpool Street, I ask the Secretary of State, on behalf of my commuters, to include Greater Anglia in his roll-call of those companies that will get new rolling stock.

[Mr McLoughlin]

I hear the hon. Gentleman’s representations. The simple fact is that we are seeing massive investment in rolling stock, and there are demands for even greater such investment, but that has to be balanced with the investment that we are seeing on the tracks. As I have said, we are embarking on a new round of spending on the railways, with some £38.5 billion by Network Rail plus the investment in rolling stock as well.

High Speed Rail

Debate between Bob Russell and Lord McLoughlin

Monday 28th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

Yes. I was in Liverpool and met the mayor a few weeks ago. It was substantially easier to get from London to Liverpool than it was to get from Liverpool back to Derby.

[Sir Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD)]

Taxpayers of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk and users of the Greater Anglia line will contribute to the cost of HS2. We have had years of neglect by successive Governments of rail investment in East Anglia. The Secretary of State has said that he is determined to make sure that the benefits of HS2 run much wider than the places directly served by the new line. How will it benefit Colchester?

[Mr McLoughlin]

Huge investment—£2.2 billion, I think —is already going into the area that serves the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. I appreciate that he might like us to have a high-speed link to his area. We are being ambitious, but I am afraid that that ambition can only go so far.