McNulty Report and West Coast Rail

Jeremy Lefroy Excerpts

Thursday 19th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

I will have to disappoint the hon. Gentleman on creeping re-nationalisation: there is not one, and I can assure him that so long as I am in this job, there will not be one. However, I am happy to meet MPs along that route to talk about the Great Western franchise. First Group will continue to operate the franchise until 2013, and it has assured us that it will operate it as normal and run the franchise properly during that period. It has every incentive to do so, because, as I just announced, our policy is that eligibility for participating in franchise competitions will depend on demonstrated ability to deliver co-operative working, and to bear down on cost pressures.

I am absolutely ready to meet the unions. In fact, I think my office is in the process of arranging a meeting with the rail unions through the TUC, which I hope can play a constructive role in this process—it is a process I think we all want—of making this a viable and affordable industry that has a bright future, and which will employ not fewer but more people as the railway expands on the trajectory of current projections.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s approach to the west coast main line franchise. As has been said, overcrowding in standard class in particular is a problem on the west coast main line. I pay tribute to the quality and courtesy of the staff I encounter in difficult circumstances. However, first-class carriages are often under-utilised. Can he confirm whether the new franchise will include a duty to take all practical measures to ensure that people do not have to stand on trains that often travel at more than 120 mph?

[Mr Hammond]

As I said earlier, the intention is to be less prescriptive. Train operators already have the freedom to de-designate first-class carriages and reconfigure their trains if they want to, and all the new Pendolino cars that will be inserted in existing nine-car sets will be standard-class carriages. I do not want to talk about imposing a specific duty on operators, but they will have to deliver on targets to reduce overcrowding, and we have powers to force them to take action if they do not.