Bletchley-Oxford Rail Link
Debate between Iain Stewart and Ben Gummer(13 years, 1 month ago)
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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.