Bletchley-Oxford Rail Link

Iain Stewart Excerpts

Tuesday 15th November 2011 Westminster Hall

[Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for what I believe is the first time, Mr Caton. I am delighted to have this opportunity to help to promote the case for reopening the east-west railway line, which would link Reading, High Wycombe and the rest of the Thames valley with Oxford, Bicester, Aylesbury, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Bedford and destinations further east.

The campaign is run by the East-West Rail Consortium, which is a partnership of local authorities, the South East Midlands local enterprise partnership, rail operators and Network Rail. The ambition is to have the western section included in the next control period—CP5—and HLOS, the high-level output specification, from 2014. I am in the process of establishing an all-party group to help to promote this campaign.

The east-west railway has the informal and slightly romantic name of the Varsity line, linking as it does Oxford and Cambridge, although the extent of the route is much greater than that, particularly the link to Aylesbury. My comments today will primarily focus on the western end of the east-west rail link. I should make it clear that many, including my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert), regard this section as a vital first step to opening the eastern end of the line between Bedford and Cambridge, and from there linking into the existing rail network serving Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

[Mr Andrew Smith (Oxford East) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this important debate and on his establishment of the all-party group. As he has mentioned the other place, I want to get in early and mention Oxford and how strong the support is for this initiative across political parties, both in Oxford and in the wider Oxfordshire county. The cost-benefit ratio is, of course, particularly good.

[Iain Stewart]

There is indeed widespread support along the line of the route and across parties. I was about to mention that this is not a new campaign. A former constituent of mine, a Mr Chris Wright, e-mailed me at the weekend to say that this year marks the silver anniversary of his involvement in the campaign to reopen the line.

By way of background, the line was built in phases between 1846 and 1862. The first attempt to close the line was made in 1959, but a local campaign opposed the closure. It did not even feature in the Beeching plans in the 1960s. It was only when fast trains were introduced between London and Cambridge and London and Oxford in the ’60s that patronage fell away to such an extent that it was quicker for people to travel into London and back out again rather than make the cross-country journey. British Rail withdrew passenger services, except of course for the section between Bletchley and Bedford, which remains in operation today. Even though passenger services were withdrawn, the line remained in operation for many years and was used for a variety of purposes, including freight services and for diversionary passenger services when the main line was undergoing engineering work.

In 1993, the section between Bletchley and Calvert Junction was mothballed, although much of the track bed remains and, thankfully, none of the line has been built on. Much of the route is already back in use. In 1987, British Rail reopened the Oxford to Bicester Town section. The Chiltern Railways Evergreen 3 project, subject to the Secretary of State’s decision on the recent public inquiry, plans to upgrade the line and build a new chord, which would see fast passenger trains from London to Oxford via Bicester and High Wycombe.

Chiltern Railways services have also been extended north of Aylesbury to the new Aylesbury Vale Parkway station, which has been built to service new housing development in the north of that town. The section between Aylesbury and Bicester remains open for freight purposes, so the line needs to be upgraded only for passenger services. My right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington) is a strong champion of the restoration of this passenger service.

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

The historical perspective is useful and my hon. Friend is setting it out clearly. There is enormous support for this project including from, for example, Oxfordshire county council. A wide spectrum of organisations now supports it, and it will bring enormous benefits for people in my constituency who are within striking distance of Islip station.

[Iain Stewart]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend who illustrates the widespread support for this project. It cuts across both the public and private sector. I will come on to some of the benefits that I believe restoring this link will provide.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

The hon. Gentleman has outlined a history of the railway being in and out of fashion, and then back in again because demand renews as population shifts. That is very telling, because it seems to be the history of our rail system. Indeed, it is similar to what has happened in Northern Ireland. Does he believe that one of the benefits of rail is to stimulate the local economy and that that is the best way to get the economic growth that we so desire?

[Iain Stewart]

I am relieved that the hon. Gentleman is not calling for the line to be extended via a new tunnel under the Irish sea to Ballymena, which might be a little too ambitious. Nevertheless, he has made an important point. The country made a strategic mistake by closing so many railway lines in the ’60s, which we are now painfully and expensively trying to rectify. I will come on to the economic benefits that he has mentioned.

[George Freeman (Mid Norfolk) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on raising this topic. On the role of rail in promoting economic growth, I want to put a word in for extending the innovation corridor across East Anglia to Norwich. I speak partly on behalf of the Economic Secretary, who cannot be here today. If we look at the story of the Cambridge phenomenon, one of the single biggest contributors was investment in the Norwich-Cambridge railway line and the non-stop connection. If we want to rebalance the economy, we should consider the eastern region’s strengths in cleantech, biotech and life sciences. Extending the Oxford-Cambridge-Norwich corridor would play a key part in unlocking our global potential.

[Iain Stewart]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I see this line as creating an arc of technology and new industry, which would be hugely beneficial to the economy. As I have said, I will come on to that in a moment.

There is another piece of the jigsaw. In 2008, Milton Keynes Central station was remodelled to enable it to incorporate east-west trains. This project is not about a new railway line; it is about reinstating, upgrading and integrating sections of railway line that already exist. As I shall come on to in a moment, that can be done for a comparatively small capital investment, and the project enjoys a benefit-cost ratio of more than 6:1.

Turning to the benefits, the east-west rail link is good for business and economic growth, good for the environment and good for the nation’s wider strategic transport aspirations. At a time when everyone is shouting for more growth in the economy, this project would provide a rail link to an economic corridor that is at the cutting edge of the UK’s economy. It would, for example, link Reading at the heart of the Thames valley, Science Vale UK with its world-leading research and development facilities, Oxford with its academic and tourism economy, Eco Bicester, which is one of the four eco-towns in the country, and my home area of Milton Keynes, which is a fast-growing new city with a dynamic economy. As my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman) has just pointed out, it would link with Cambridge, East Anglia and all the important economic sectors.

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that the proposal would play a valuable role in getting freight from the east coast ports across the country without needing to go into London? It would also provide another way for passengers to travel without using the over-congested Great Eastern line from Norwich to Liverpool street.

[Iain Stewart]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. My comments are primarily about passenger services, but the freight side is equally valuable in putting together the strategic network for the country.

This area’s economic strengths lie in key growth sectors for the future, such as high-value-added, science-based research and development, precision engineering and, especially, automotive engineering—Red Bull Formula 1 is located in my constituency and won this year’s constructors’ championship—pharmaceutical and life science research and development, green technology and low-carbon services and products. All those things are attractive to inward investment, and I believe that a fast, reliable public transport corridor that links them together and to the rest of the United Kingdom, as well as to the population centres from which they will draw their work force, will help to generate up to 12,000 new jobs.

[Ben Gummer (Ipswich) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on bringing this important matter before the House and the Minister. The largest software development centre in Europe is just outside Ipswich, and it would be a great help to link that to other centres of excellence at Cambridge and Oxford. The line between Felixstowe, Ipswich and Cambridge has already been built, and it will be improved thanks to this Government’s investment.

[Iain Stewart]

I am grateful for that intervention, which again illustrates the arc of economic growth that runs from east to west. The western section of the line will be instrumental in opening up the second phase of development eastwards.

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend on securing the debate; the Minister must be impressed to see a rail project that has such widespread, extensive and popular support, let alone with the economic benefits that have been outlined. Does my hon. Friend believe that such a project would also help with areas of economic deprivation? My constituency has seen levels of unemployment that are above the national average. Too often such issues are thought to affect other parts of the country and are sometimes overlooked in the eastern area.

[Iain Stewart]

My hon. Friend makes a valuable point. The south-east is assumed to be uniformly wealthy, but that is not the case. My constituency also contains pockets of deprivation, and this project will stimulate overall economic activity and benefit all areas.

A key benefit of this project would be a reduction in journey times, leading to a modal shift in our methods of transportation. The proposed rail link would result in a significant reduction in journey times from east to west. Road transport is a nightmare along that corridor, particularly in the key middle section of the line. I often have to drive west from Milton Keynes along the A421 trunk road between Bletchley and Buckingham and the A4421 from Buckingham to Bicester. Both roads are single carriageways, and they are so congested that it is difficult to predict journey times with any accuracy.

The time savings will be transformational. For example, a car journey between Milton Keynes and Oxford, which can take up to an hour and a half, would be replaced by a 40-minute train journey. The journey from Oxford to Bedford would reduce from over two hours by car to one hour by train. The east-west rail line would also open up a new direct rail link from Milton Keynes to Aylesbury and the rest of the Chiltern Railways network to and from London Marylebone. It would help to achieve a modal shift from car to rail, with all the environmental benefits that that entails.

Hon. Friends have raised the issue of wider connectivity and freight, and the east-west rail line would provide much better links with the UK national rail network. It would join up the Great Western line, the west coast main line and the midland main line, which in time would be followed by the east coast main line and the network in East Anglia.

The potential for wider rail services—passenger and freight—to use that corridor is significant, both for scheduling new longer distance services in the future, and for providing a north-south relief route should engineering work be planned on one of the main lines. Such a link would be a valuable piece of the UK’s strategic railway jigsaw, and indirectly it would also relieve some of the pressure on London, which is a point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous). Many people find it easier and quicker to travel into London and go back out, rather than travel across country.

I hesitate to raise this issue, given its controversial nature in the rest of Buckinghamshire, but the east-west rail link would intersect with the proposed route of High Speed 2—the Minister and her colleagues will be glad to hear that I do not intend to enter into the pros and cons of HS2, because there will be plenty of time for that in the weeks and months ahead. Nevertheless, such an intersection would open up the possibility of a parkway station. If HS2 proceeds along the planned route, I would like to see the business case for a parkway station properly assessed in the context of the Y-network, and connections to Heathrow and High Speed 1. More than 500,000 people would live within 30 or 40 minutes’ rail journey from a parkway station, which might significantly augment the business case for HS2. It would also go some way to answering the justifiable objections of people in Buckinghamshire who claim that they will endure the pain of HS2 but receive no gain. That, however, is a side issue, and the case for the east-west rail link stands independently from that for HS2.

All in all, the east-west rail project could generate an additional 2.5 million rail trips annually, and result in nearly 1.5 million fewer car journeys. It has the potential for an annual uplift in regional gross domestic product of £38.1 million and could generate additional annual tax revenues of £17.1 million. All those benefits could be secured for a relatively modest capital investment of £250 million, which, when put in the context of the £33 billion needed for HS2, seems a comparatively small sum. If 100% publicly funded, the project has a benefit-cost ratio of 6.3:l, and the ratio is 11.2:1 if there is a private sector contribution. Again, that compares favourably with the benefit-cost ratio for HS2 of about 2.6:1.

Much work is being undertaken by the consortium to realise private sector investment in the east-west rail project. After five and a half years, a positive income stream would be generated through the fare box and no ongoing public subsidy would be required. Last July, Oxford Economics was commissioned by the consortium to provide an independent assessment and review of the east-west rail link, and it concluded that there is a strong business case for the project to go ahead.

Through local enterprise partnerships, the consortium is developing a funding package to enable the delivery of the scheme via both the public and the private sectors. One key source of funding will be the HLOS for CP5, which is unique in that it is being promoted by a non-rail-industry entity. Consequently, it has not yet appeared in the initial industry plan for CP5, but nobody should take that as a sign that it is not a viable project. I believe that the east-west rail project is a no-brainer and that with a fair wind trains could be running by 2017. If the Government are looking to fast-track infrastructure projects that will deliver growth and jobs, may I gently suggest that the east-west rail project could easily be brought forward and that trains could be running by the end of this Parliament?

I conclude by paying tribute to Patrick O’Sullivan, the consortium’s project manager from Jacobs Engineering UK, and all those involved with the East West Rail Consortium, together with those who have campaigned to restore the rail link for many years. I am extremely grateful to have had this opportunity to present the case for the east-west rail link, and I hope that I have persuaded my right hon. Friend the Minister of its merits.