Railways: Rolling Stock

Lord Davies of Oldham Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Popat]

My Lords, this country has a long and proud tradition of building the best trains in the world. We would, of course, like to buy trains built in Britain wherever possible, and along with the Bombardier factory in Derby, the recent announcement that Hitachi is building a new factory in Darlington is welcome news. As part of our industrial growth strategy, the Government have taken a series of steps to support manufacture in this country. We can, and do, produce high-quality goods that are desired around the world. These railways can be very useful for us to sell abroad, especially to Africa and other countries.

[Lord Davies of Oldham (Lab)]

My Lords, can we get to the nitty-gritty here? The Minister is surely aware that the average age of the northern franchise rolling stock is 24 years, and that of the Merseyside rolling stock is 34 years. The northern franchise uses the Pacer extensively. The Pacer is a bus body put on a freight chassis. It is exceedingly uncomfortable, unsafe and by 2019, which is the terminal date, it should meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act, but it will not do so. Are not the Government responsible for this appalling state of affairs on northern railways?

[Lord Popat]

My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord that most of our rolling stock is very old. That is why we have embarked on £38 billion worth of investment in our railways to include new rolling stock. The Pacer does not currently meet the necessary standards that all trains must meet by 2020. It will be for the owners to decide whether to scrap them or to invest in extending their operating lives. With electrification, many more new trains will replace these old trains.