East Coast Main Line

Fiona Onasanya Excerpts

Wednesday 16th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Onasanya (Peterborough) (Lab)]

Three times in under a decade private companies have failed the east coast main line. It was successfully managed by a public company between 2009 and 2015. Why will the Secretary of State not accept that obvious solution to the problems faced by the east coast main line?

[Chris Grayling]

I do not believe that that is the long-term answer. We are actually taking the line back into state control now. The whole point is that, during those years, the railway contributed less to the public purse, had lower levels of satisfaction and employed fewer people than it does today, and there must be a lesson in that as well.