Rail (East Anglia)

Dan Poulter Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd July 2012 Westminster Hall

[Dr Daniel Poulter (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) (Con)]

Many key points have already been touched on, and we have heard a lot from hon. Members about the historical under-investment in the East Anglian rail network. We heard in a well articulated speech by my hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel) that although fares continue to increase, the reliability of the service continues to be a problem, and there has been consistently poor value for money for passengers who use the line.

[Mr Peter Bone in the Chair]

My hon. Friend the Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman) rightly highlighted the fact that if we want a first-class business environment in the east of England and East Anglia, we need first-class infrastructure. We are pleased with the strong Government support for investment in high-speed broadband in rural areas in Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and other counties, but a key part of a first-rate business infrastructure involves a first-class railway. That is important for agriculture, life sciences, retail and the tourism industry, which is growing throughout our region. It is also vital for every passenger who uses the railways in East Anglia on a daily—or in some cases weekly—basis; we have seen a growing number of passengers throughout our region.

It is a pleasure to serve for the first time under your chairmanship, Mr Bone, and I, too, congratulate my neighbour and hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) on securing the debate. I want briefly to highlight three key issues. We can all talk about important stations and branch lines in our constituencies. I have one station in my constituency—Westerfield—but I will not talk about it today. That does not mean that the station and those who use it are not important, but we need to highlight the key considerations. Improving the great eastern main line will benefit every branch line and station that comes off it. The Government have already listened to that key message, and we are grateful.

Commuters have suffered from lack of reliability on the service. My constituents who use the railways in East Anglia tell me that if they could have one thing, it would be a more reliable service that does not break down but ensures that people get to where they are going on time. That is vital for businesses and for each and every passenger on a daily basis. The lack of reliability of railways in East Anglia has undermined the service that they provide to their passengers. At the heart of the prospectus launched this week is a request that before we see increases in speed, reliability of the service must be the priority.

A key part of improving reliability involves improving capacity, and the prospectus rightly outlines the need for additional track capacity, particularly on the great eastern main line. As my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mr Jackson) highlighted earlier in the debate, we must ensure that businesses are supported correctly and that more track capacity is freed up on the Felixstowe to Nuneaton freight rail link, which is an important part of this debate. As the prospectus highlighted, if we want to support businesses in East Anglia, a first-class rail link between the midlands—one of the manufacturing engine rooms of the British economy—and Felixstowe, which takes 46% of the UK’s container traffic, is vital.

Furthermore, in terms of the passenger arguments that we are advocating today and the increased reliability of service, it is not desirable for freight to travel from the midlands into London and then back out, as happens at the moment. That slows down the passage of freight and is bad for business, but it also clogs up passenger capacity on the lines, which would be much better used to support improved reliability—a more reliable passenger service. Therefore, a key part of the rail prospectus is about ensuring not just that business is supported through the Felixstowe-Nuneaton freight rail link, but that there is recognition of the importance of that link to the passenger service. I am talking about the freeing up of passenger capacity on the rest of the rail network in East Anglia and particularly on the great eastern main line.

The primary issues are reliability of service and capacity, but it is also desirable to increase, where possible, the speed of service. However, we will get a faster service only if we deal with reliability and capacity as the first priorities. Reliability and capacity improvements will of course lead to greater train speed. If we want to achieve Norwich in 90, Ipswich in 60 and all the other key considerations, the only way we can do so is by focusing on reliability and capacity of service.

All the MPs present at the debate are very grateful for the support that the Department has given us in our fight for improved rail services in our own constituencies, but all of us are also aware that the issue is much bigger than any individual station or branch line. It is about improving the overall reliability and capacity of the service in East Anglia, with a focus—a laudable focus—on the great eastern main line as the primary driver for delivering that. I thank my right hon. Friend the Minister for her support for all that we have been doing. I again commend my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal for securing the debate. I look forward to the Minister’s supportive comments when she responds to it.

[Mr Peter Bone (in the Chair)]

I call Ben Gummer.