Rail Infrastructure (Train Operating Companies) Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Transport
James Cleverly
Main Page: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)Department Debates - View all James Cleverly's debates with the Department for Transport
Rail Infrastructure (Train Operating Companies)
James Cleverly Excerpts(7 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Chris Grayling
It could just be that we have had some tentative steps in this direction that have shown early signs of promise and that we think we should pursue much more seriously—it could just be that.
James Cleverly (Braintree) (Con)
Commuters on the Braintree to Liverpool Street line suffer cancellations and delays far too regularly. I welcome the commitment to new rolling stock under the new franchise, but does my right hon. Friend agree that the bringing together of the TOCs and Network Rail will mean that there can be no excuses, be they about rolling stock, signalling or points, to further delay the commuters in my constituency?
Chris Grayling
I agree; what the public want is to know that someone is in charge. The aim of all this is to ensure that someone is in charge. Things will go wrong and there will be problems—that is unavoidable in a congested rail system—but we all want to know that there is a joined-up team trying to solve them. Of course, I hope that the new trains on my hon. Friend’s network, once they arrive and have bedded in, will deliver much better reliability than the existing ones.