East Coast Main Line Debate

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Department: Department for Transport

East Coast Main Line

Jason McCartney Excerpts
Thursday 27th November 2014

(9 years, 12 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord McLoughlin Portrait Mr McLoughlin
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I have no objection to foreign companies wanting to invest in this country. I would have thought that the hon. Lady welcomed the fact that Hitachi is building new plants in Newton Aycliffe. She is not decrying Hitachi because it is a foreign company, is she? I have no objection to foreign countries wanting to invest in the United Kingdom. I welcome it.

Jason McCartney Portrait Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)
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We shall have 3,000 extra seats during the morning peak time, 65 new state-of-the-art trains, a 10% reduction in long-distance Anytime fares and the first direct service from Huddersfield to London since 1960. Will my right hon. Friend continue to put passengers at the forefront of these new services?

Lord McLoughlin Portrait Mr McLoughlin
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he has said, but I should point out to him that this is not just about passengers. It is also about staff—the staff who deliver a fantastic service on the east coast main line, and who will now be given better training. I think that the national academy—which, as I said earlier, will be based in London, York and Derby—is very good news for the people who work on our railways, as well as the passengers who travel on them.