Railways Bill

Jessica Toale Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 9th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

The hon. Lady is right to say that South Western Railway had a difficult few months after it came into public ownership, but the problems that it is experiencing were inherited from the private sector operator. The number of new Arterio trains on the South Western Railway network has quadrupled since the train operating company came into public ownership, and there have been, on average, fewer cancellations in the directly operated service than there were in the privately run service.

[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for joining me at Branksome depot in my constituency to launch Great British Railways. It was welcomed by engineers, passengers, railway operators and local schools. I have a very different experience from that of the hon. Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson), so will my right hon. Friend tell us how the Bill will benefit constituents and passengers across the rail network?

[Heidi Alexander]

We had a wonderful day in Bournemouth marking the first train operating company coming into public ownership under our new legislation. We will have a laser-like focus on building a railway that the public can be proud of and rely on.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jessica Toale Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

T6. At least nine major roads in my constituency will be affected by roadworks in the next week. Seemingly endless utility works and roadworks are a crucial issue for my constituents, who have told me it makes them late for work, school pick-up and even hospital appointments. Can the Minister tell me what steps her Department is taking to improve the situation for my constituents?

[Lilian Greenwood]

This Government stand with local road users who are frustrated by roadworks that cause unnecessary disruption. While councils and utility companies should always work together to minimise the impact of their works, we are also taking action: we are doubling fixed penalty notices for utility companies that do not comply with certain requirements for carrying out their street works, and we have extended overrun charges of up to £10,000 per day to weekends and bank holidays, to prevent overrunning roadworks.