Aberystwyth to Carmarthen Railway Reopening

Chris Evans Excerpts

Wednesday 20th February 2019 Westminster Hall

[Jonathan Edwards (Carmarthen East and Dinefwr) (PC)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered reopening the railway between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen.

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Mr Paisley. It is a pleasure and an honour to serve under your chairmanship.

The Carmarthen to Aberystwyth rail line fell victim to the infamous Beeching axe in 1965. Together with the closure of the Afon Wen to Bangor line, this closure has meant that for more than 50 years, people in Wales have had to cross the border into England to travel between the north and south of their country by rail.

That is precisely what happens when a country allows another country to determine its transport policy. To this day, decisions over rail infrastructure remain the preserve of Westminster, with Wales left to deal with the far-reaching financial and economic consequences. What appears reasonable on Whitehall spreadsheets and maps has far-reaching and always overlooked consequences in Welsh communities. The people of my country face the indignity of a dilapidated transport system, with no line linking the north and the south, while having to pay, via their taxes, for England to get an incalculably expensive vanity project that links the north and south of that country. At the same time, the British Government refuse to provide full Barnett consequentials for Wales.

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

I have full sympathy with the hon. Gentleman, having spent three happy years in Carmarthen, which, as he knows, is home to the successful University of Wales Trinity Saint David. How are we to attract students to that world-class institution when it is really difficult to travel between Carmarthen, Lampeter and Aberystwyth? I am told there is a great university in Aberystwyth, too, which the hon. Gentleman may have attended at one point.

[Jonathan Edwards]

I was fully aware of the hon. Gentleman’s history in Carmarthen. He will realise the importance of a north-south link in the context of the west of our country. I will deal with his point about universities later, but he is absolutely right to highlight the importance of linking those higher education institutions to enable us to develop the economy of the west of our country.

Let us knock on the head the British Government’s fake truth about the Barnett consequentials from HS2. Unlike Northern Ireland and Scotland, Wales does not receive its full share of spending from HS2. In the latest statement of funding policy, which accompanied the last comprehensive spending review, Wales had a 0% rating for HS2 whereas Scotland and Northern Ireland had 100% ratings, showing once again that the British Government regard my country as nothing more than the west of England. This week, the boss of HS2 essentially said he has no idea how much the project will cost and no way of calculating it. Mr Paisley, I am sure you can appreciate our concern in Wales about the current arrangements.

Rail Announcement

Chris Evans Excerpts

Tuesday 27th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chris Grayling]

I and my ministerial team are always happy to meet to discuss services to the great city of Hull. The hon. Lady is not entirely accurate, because I did refer to the announcement I made a month ago about the start of the £2.9 billion investment in the trans-Pennine upgrade, which will start next spring.

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Minister will know that £1.2 billion was overspent on electrification between London Paddington and Swansea, and he knows that is not the only transport infrastructure project in relation to which the National Audit Office has found overspending. How confident is he that safeguards are in place for future infrastructure contracts for the east and west coast main lines, along with HS2, to prevent overspending that needlessly costs taxpayers millions?

[Chris Grayling]

It is always possible for technical problems to arise, as we are seeing in Bolton at the moment, but I think that lessons are being learned. Lessons are certainly being learned from the Great Western main line, which has not been run on an acceptable basis—it has been subject to reviews by the NAO, the Public Accounts Committee and the Transport Committee. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that Network Rail and my Department are seized of the need to ensure that that does not happen in future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Evans Excerpts

Thursday 30th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

rose—

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

I am afraid Newcastle and Islwyn are too far away. Those Members will have to try to come in on another question; the M40 is not that big.

Severn Bridges (Tolls)

Chris Evans Excerpts

Tuesday 21st July 2015 Westminster Hall

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East (Jessica Morden) on securing the debate. In the hours she has spent on this issue I am sure she could have walked to the Severn bridge and back. I had to check for a flying pig when the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T. C. Davies) was speaking; I did not think I would ever hear him advocate nationalisation with a straight face and without coming out in a rash and a cold sweat. I also congratulate the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards) on a speech that, once again, raised the ghost of Rebecca—he will know what I mean.

When the Severn bridge was debated in Parliament back in November 1990, it was spoken of as a link between Wales and the south-west of England, laying the foundations for greater growth for both, helping develop both economies to the benefit of all and providing the infrastructure Wales needed for internal and international trade. Today, sadly, the Severn bridge stands as a barrier to business. The tolls on tourists, on trucks transporting goods and on people travelling for work and for leisure are holding Wales back in an ever-increasingly competitive economy.

The Severn bridge is costing Wales a fortune. Tolls do not make sense for the people who have to pay to see relatives and friends or for the companies who lose hundreds of thousands of pounds each year. Put simply, they do not make sense for Wales. One study put the potential growth of the Welsh economy if tolls were abolished at £107 million a year. To put that in context, the bridge costs £15 million a year to run and raises £87 million a year in revenue.

The tolls are not just holding back potential growth; they are actively encouraging companies to base themselves in the Bristol area and the rest of the south-west rather than coming to Wales, where they are needed. That costs us in employment, taxes and, above all, prosperity. Per mile, the Severn bridge remains the most expensive toll road in the world to travel on, a record no one should be proud of. It is significantly more expensive than the Humber bridge and the M6 toll; it is even significantly more expensive than the next closest international example, the Akashi Kaikyo bridge in Japan—I should get a badge for pronouncing that.

The argument against the tolls is clear. I am pleased to note that, thanks to the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East and others, the Chancellor has to some extent bowed to the pressure, as the category 2 tolls were ended in the March Budget. That was the beginning of the process, but it has been a slow one, and so more must now happen. The Government must once again accept what is needed to boost growth across Wales. Will the Minister say today that VAT will be removed from all tolls on the Severn bridge once it enters public ownership? That call comes not just from me, but from both sides of the House—the hon. Member for Monmouth called for it in his speech. It is eminently sensible, and I hope the Government listen to the Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee. Conservative Members of the Welsh Assembly have also joined their voices to calls for a cut in the toll.

Beyond the political world, business leaders are also crying out for the change. In my constituency and in those of other hon. Members right across Wales, it is what business wants. I struggle to see why the Government will not commit to the change once the bridge enters public ownership. It is what businesses in Wales need.

[Mr Mark Williams]

Will the hon. Gentleman take the opportunity to reiterate the importance of the tourism sector? There has traditionally been a flow of people between the south-west of England and all of Wales—not just the south, but mid and north Wales. A speedy removal of VAT or, better still, scrapping the tolls would give a direct and immediate boost to the tourist sector in Wales.

[Chris Evans]

I agree entirely with the hon. Gentleman. He does great work as chair of the all-party group on the tourism and hospitality industry in Wales. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) mentioned that in Northern Ireland there are no tolls. The Irish have been very good at selling their culture, and telling people to come to Ireland to see the fantastic beaches. How can we do that in Wales if we have a tax on friends and relatives coming to see how great Wales is? When we think of business, we tend to think of heavy industry and rarely think of tourism. I represent a valleys constituency and have always believed that we do not talk up enough the beautiful valleys in Wales. The hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr also represents a beautiful part of the country. How can we ask people to come to our constituencies if they are faced with what is clearly a tax when they get to the Severn bridge?

It is time to end the tax on entering Wales that the Severn bridge toll has become. The Conservative party often talks about its desire to rebalance the economy away from London and the south of England, to spread prosperity to all regions. There is merit in that idea, and I agree with it. The Minister today has a chance to put those words into action.

There are not many issues in our politics that unite the Labour party, Plaid Cymru, business, tourists and the Conservative party—the hon. Member for Monmouth sometimes stands alone in the Conservative party—and even rarer are issues that unite north and south Wales, but this is one. The bridge stands as a barrier to trade and growth. I do not often quote or paraphrase Ronald Reagan. He said:

“Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

I say, Minister, tear down this toll.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Evans Excerpts

Thursday 12th September 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

Once my hon. Friend starts a campaign he never loses an opportunity to mention it. He raised this point with the Prime Minister and he has a meeting planned with me. We are spending £9 million on pinch points to tackle existing congestion around the road. I look forward to my meeting with him, where I am sure he will make his case persuasively.

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

One in three blind or partially sighted people are spending about £30 a month on taxis because buses cannot accommodate them through the use of audiovisual equipment. What are the Government doing to change that?

[Norman Baker]

We give strong support to the bus industry through financial support directly to the operators, through the bus service operators grant, and through local authorities. Our reforms to the bus system through, for example, the BSOG reforms and the extra money provided for green buses are giving a welcome boost to the bus industry. That means that passenger numbers are roughly where they were at the end of the previous Government’s time in office.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Evans Excerpts

Thursday 25th April 2013 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

1. What progress his Department is making on its rail fares and ticketing review; and if he will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Patrick McLoughlin)]

We are considering a range of options to improve rail fares and ticketing, and we intend to set out our findings and next steps this summer.

[Chris Evans]

Commuters in Islwyn will pay three times as much as their counterparts in Scotland, whose Government are freezing off-peak rail fares next year. Do this Government plan to do the same here?

[Mr McLoughlin]

We are looking at a wide range of options for ticketing and, as I said, we hope to report to the House on that in the summer. What we have in place for ticket pricing is exactly the same as under the previous Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Evans Excerpts

Thursday 23rd June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

The call for evidence has gone to stakeholders in and around the company and the air traffic sector. We asked what the implications would be of selling all, part or none of our shareholding. We are open-minded and conscious of the fact that there could be strategic implications, and we want to understand from the people who work in the industry what those strategic implications might be before making any decision.

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

9. What recent discussions he has had with FirstGroup on the future of the First Great Western rail franchise; and if he will make a statement.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Norman Baker)]

Department for Transport Ministers and officials meet franchised train operators and their owners regularly. These discussions have included the decision which has been announced by First Great Western to exit the franchise in March 2013.

[Chris Evans]

On the electrification of the Great Western line, what action is being taken to ensure that the new franchisee works with Network Rail so that there is minimum customer disruption during that period?

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Evans Excerpts

Thursday 28th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Theresa Villiers)]

The decision on rail fares has been difficult, but we have had to make it as part of the tough decisions needed to tackle the deficit. Of course we will keep under review the way that the system works, and I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss the issue.

[Chris Evans (Islwyn) (Lab/Co-op)]

T3. Constituents of mine travel on the Ebbw Valley rail line from Cardiff to Islwyn, but they cannot travel to Newport because there are major engineering works at the Gaer junction. Has the Minister had any discussions with the First Minister about providing money for those engineering works so that my constituents can travel to work from Islwyn to Newport?

[Mrs Villiers]

I have not discussed that specific issue with the Welsh Assembly Government, but I am happy to do so.