Railways: East Coast Main Line Debate
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Lord Watts
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Railways: East Coast Main Line
Lord Watts Excerpts(6 years, 2 months ago)
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Baroness Sugg
There are some issues with trains to Scotland at the moment, so I am afraid that I am unable to give that guarantee. We are working very closely with the Scottish Government to deliver that.
Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, how can the Secretary of State keep his job? What has happened to ministerial accountability for this shambles?
Baroness Sugg
My Lords, we are overseeing, as I have said many times, record investment in our railways: £48 billion over 2019 to 2024. Obviously, with all these improvements, that has given us challenges, but we should not lose sight of the benefits that are being seen through this investment. The Azuma trains alone will have 15% greater capacity, and once the full fleet is in service they will deliver a 28% increase in morning peak services. There will be improvements in accessibility, and they will be more reliable, with more storage room. That is what we should aim for.