Britain’s Railways

Lord Haselhurst Excerpts

Monday 24th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Haselhurst (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I remind the House of my interest as chair of the West Anglia Taskforce. Does my noble friend except that this railway, having only two tracks, demonstrates the impossibility of satisfying the competing needs of Transport for London, Hertfordshire and Essex commuters, freight operators, the advanced industries around Cambridge and the operators of Stansted Airport? Will the creation of GBR offer a better prospect for the restoration of the two extra tracks that were torn up after the Beeching report?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My noble friend raises an important point and highlights why Great British Railways is so desperately needed, in that we have so many different operators and indeed types of train services—be they passenger or freight—trying to access limited track in certain areas. It is the case that we will continue to invest tens of billions of pounds into the railways on new lines, trains, services and electrification; we want to provide the stable foundation for innovation and future investment. My noble friend mentioned the Beeching closures. The £500 million Restoring Your Railway Fund remains open, and any ideas should be forwarded to that fund.