High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill

Jim Cunningham Excerpts

Thursday 31st October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Ellman]

The right hon. Lady has drawn attention to the importance of connectivity and the importance of using the opportunities offered by high-speed rail to bring benefit to areas that are not on the line. That is an essential component. In the regions, a great deal of work has been done to assess what the benefit might be. Centro estimates that there will be an additional 22,000 jobs in the west midlands, while the Core Cities Group expects an additional 400,000.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend speaks of the economic benefits for the midlands. Cities such as Coventry will certainly not benefit from this investment; indeed, the opposite will be the case.

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[Lilian Greenwood]

I thank my hon. Friend for that. He is right to say that we cannot afford the new high-speed rail line to become a “rich man’s toy”, as a former Secretary of State put it. Clearly the new network must be available to everyone, and I am sure the Minister will confirm the view that the fares will be no greater than they are on the current network.

[Mr Jim Cunningham]

Has my hon. Friend taken into consideration the frequency of the trains on the west coast main line and what effects this new project will have on that?

[Lilian Greenwood]

The whole point of the project is to provide extra capacity, including on the west coast main line. Obviously, the detail of what timetables will be in place needs to be worked out, but we would hope that they will be able to provide additional services to many cities, including my hon. Friend’s city, and we will call for that.