Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Katie Lam and Heidi Alexander(5 days, 13 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)
Cross-channel rail was already mentioned this morning. Specifically, trains from Ashford to Paris were a massive boost for my constituents in the Weald of Kent and are much missed. It is fantastic news that Virgin would like to run trains again from Ashford and also from Ebbsfleet, but I know that there are some open questions about how the stations will be updated. It would be great to hear about any conversations that the right hon. Lady might have had with Virgin regarding what might need to happen next to move this forward.
Heidi Alexander
As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey), there are a whole number of steps subsequent to the ORR decision, which we welcomed. We are keen to see the stations at both Ashford and Ebbsfleet reopened, and I will be talking to all operators that are interested in making that a reality.