Rail Investment and Integrated Rail Plan

Debate between Kieran Mullan and Grant Shapps

Wednesday 8th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

We will of course continue to keep the matter under review, but as my hon. Friend knows £100 million is going to west Yorkshire and Leeds to see the best way of getting HS2 trains to Leeds so I ask him to be a little more patient on that front.



However, he is absolutely right to mention the smaller towns and cities that the Labour party seems to have largely forgotten about. The existing plan would have seen deteriorating services. We intend to revise the plan, because as far back as 2014 it was recognised that the existing plan would

“deliver maximum disruption and minimal benefit.”

Those are not my words about the plan that Labour is proposing, but those of the now Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.

[Dr Kieran Mullan (Crewe and Nantwich) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that Labour’s pledge on this can be added to its very long list of totally uncosted spending commitments that it expects the British taxpayer to pick up? It has no way of paying for it.

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Of course, Crewe is going to get a fantastic service, with a wonderful delivery, as is Manchester. I was just talking about the Manchester Mayor.

Integrated Rail Plan: North and Midlands

Debate between Kieran Mullan and Grant Shapps

Thursday 18th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend will be pleased to know that Darlington is a big winner out of this package. The improved journey times and reliability from places such as Durham because of the east coast main line upgrades will make a big difference. I know that my hon. Friend is already making significant progress on his restoring your railway bids, because he has recently had success on that front.

[Dr Kieran Mullan (Crewe and Nantwich) (Con)]

HS2 is going to be transformative for my Crewe and Nantwich seat, bringing jobs and investment, so I am delighted that the Government have today committed to the Crewe-Manchester leg, which will bring journey times to the airport down to 15 minutes and journey times into Manchester itself down to less than half an hour, as well as, of course, freeing up the existing route. In respect of the leg from Birmingham to Crewe, I saw how important the passing of legislation was to unlock business confidence and investment, so will the Secretary of State outline when we can expect legislation on the Crewe to Manchester leg to pass into law?

[Grant Shapps]

The House will be considering a hybrid Bill for the Crewe to Manchester section, which is reconfirmed by the integrated rail plan announced today. The legislation will be introduced early next year, so it is all systems go.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kieran Mullan and Grant Shapps

Thursday 12th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dr Kieran Mullan (Crewe and Nantwich) (Con)]

11. What steps his Department is taking to encourage more frequent bus services.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Grant Shapps)]

Our £220 million better deal for bus users includes measures to improve bus services in rural and urban areas. This is together with the new £5 billion fund for overhauling bus and cycle links throughout the country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Mullan]

My constituents tell me that very often buses come late or do not turn up at all. As we look to invest more in buses, what are we going to do to make sure that the companies delivering the services are doing a decent job for our residents?

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is right: it is really important to make these bus services work in a manner where people can just rely on them and where they do not even have to look at a timetable because the frequency is there. As part of doing that, we will be opening up bus open data powers, which will ensure that that information is transferred and available to people at bus stops and in their apps, enabling a much more frequent service to run.