Railways Bill

Ian Roome Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 9th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)]

As the Government move to create a publicly owned Great British Railways, I want to speak on behalf of several thousand rail passengers in my constituency, and to say what they have suffered in recent weeks. We all want a rail network that delivers a fantastic service, supports the economy and protects the environment. In 2026, the last thing we want is ever more cars crammed on to our roads. Last year, the North Devon Tarka line, which runs for 39 miles through my constituency and that of the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride), recorded a record 1 million journeys for the first time. It is among the busiest branch lines anywhere in the south-west. Office of Road and Rail figures show that footfall at Barnstaple station, which is heavily used by young people and college students, has skyrocketed by 63% since 2019—by far the biggest surge at any station in Devon and Cornwall. The Tarka line has again set new records for passenger numbers nearly every month this year—until November, when that success came to a grinding halt.

On 17 November, heavy rain closed three bridges and ceased all rail traffic between Barnstaple and Exeter. Since then, our line has been shut three times. On Friday afternoon, it was closed again because of signal faults, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded in Exeter. The operator was issuing fresh warnings of likely cancellations just yesterday afternoon. If we were to ask those passengers what needs to be in the Bill, few would argue the merits of public versus private ownership. Instead, many in North Devon put up with immense overcrowding, or worry that their train may not even turn up. Back in 2017, Network Rail committed £2.9 million to improvements on the north Devon line, but that is only a tiny fraction of the capital investment in other parts of the country, and hundreds of thousands more passenger journeys now rely on that infrastructure.

Greater accountability to the public will be important for our railways. However, public ownership will be doomed to fail if the Government do not use this window of opportunity, and the extra powers in the Bill, to make lines in rural areas like mine more resilient for the future.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

Too many rural railway stations are not accessible for disabled people. Without support staff, constituents in Yeovil have had serious accidents at railway stations. Although the Government’s accessibility priorities, which we are debating today, are welcome, does my hon. Friend agree that we need a strengthened access-for-all programme?

[Ian Roome]

I agree. Disabled access is absolutely necessary at all stations, particularly in rural areas. My hon. Friend is a big advocate for accessibility for disabled people in Yeovil who need it.

As the network and operator are brought together, we need joined-up planning for increased capacity, and against bad weather. My party has supported freezing rail fares after years of price hikes, but, as many of my constituents can attest, it is no good buying a ticket for a train that is not running. I urge the Government to resist declaring victory once public ownership is achieved—it is only the first stop. The long-term planning will be the important part of this Bill.

We must give passengers in North Devon, and many places like it, good reason to have faith in their railway. That will require more than a new flag painted on the side of a train. What does the Minister plan to do next to make rural railway lines, such as the Tarka line, ready for the 2030s?

Rail Services: Devon

Ian Roome Excerpts

Wednesday 11th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Steve Race]

I thank the hon. Member for that intervention. I agree that what we need across Devon is to look at all these shovel-ready projects from business case onwards, to work out what will deliver the most economic value for our region and to support the mission to get economic growth going.

Connecting Okehampton to Tavistock, and connecting Tavistock to Plymouth—making sure that work continues —will create an alternative through route that will increase resilience in Devon and better connect the economies of both Exeter and Plymouth deeper into Devon, delivering much-needed growth and opportunity across our county.

Thirdly, the Salisbury-Exeter section of the South Western line is currently largely single-track; in fact, 75% of it is single-track. That has a huge impact on the available capacity of the line, and of course punctuality. Only about 54% to 66% of trains on that section currently run on time and the regularity of the service can really only stand at about one train per hour due to the constraints on the track.

Investing in passing loops through and around Tisbury, Whimple and Honiton west of Feniton, and investment in signalling that has not been updated for 40 years, will enable more journeys and better punctuality on a line that is vital for completing the Devon Metro project. That project aims to integrate and enhance rail services in the Exeter travel-to-work area, which will aid Exeter’s vital strategic position as the gateway to the south-west peninsula. It will bring communities across Devon together in one transport network that can deliver trains at least every half hour, and up to every 15 minutes. People in London may well raise their eyebrows at that.

Fourthly, I want to mention the North Devon Railway Development Alliance, members of which I met recently. They impressed on me the importance of their vision for a complete modernisation of the Exeter-Barnstaple line, allowing potential improvement outcomes.

[Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Member for giving way and for bringing this debate on rail in Devon. Trains on the Tarka line from Barnstaple to Exeter are currently at overcapacity, partly because of one-way pressure of journeys. Large numbers of college students travel to Exeter in the morning and back in the evening. Those trains need an extra carriage, but platforms on the route are too short to accommodate it. Does the hon. Member agree that something as basic as lengthening a platform is likely to leave passengers in Devon feeling hard done by, given the significant rail investment elsewhere in the country?

[Steve Race]

I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. The point about significant rail investment elsewhere in the country, which I will come on to, has an impact on how we see it and how we should be fighting for a better railway system in Devon.