Wessex Route Study (Passenger Capacity)

Maria Miller Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2014 Westminster Hall

[Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship in this important debate on the Wessex route plan, Mr Streeter.

In 1996, when the railways were set free from Government control, it was assumed that we would need to manage their decline. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Privatisation stopped what had become a gradual decline. Passenger numbers on our railways have more than doubled since then, going from 750 million to 1.6 billion journeys a year. There has been a 60% increase in freight, too.

Passenger numbers on routes in and out of Waterloo have doubled since privatisation to 220 million journeys a year. Waterloo is Britain’s busiest mainline station, with over 100 million passengers a year. It has more passengers than Heathrow airport, yet Waterloo is the only major route into London that in the past 30 years has not had money spent on it to make sure that it can cater for the record numbers of people using it every day to get to and from our capital and to and from work. Waterloo uses track layout that was designed for steam trains in the 1930s, which was when the last very big investment in infrastructure on the Waterloo route was made.

Why the delay? Why has no money gone in there? It is because decisions about redesigning the route were put off, because they were too complicated and nobody came up with credible solutions. Even when the last Government set sky-high house-building targets for the south-east, the infrastructure investment was not there for the railways to match that growth. In my Basingstoke constituency, the then council called for the highest possible levels of house building, with 13,000 homes built in Basingstoke in the last 15 years alone, but again, there were no solutions on rail and no solutions on transport for residents. What that means for my constituents and those of right hon. and hon. Members here today is increasing overcrowding, not only at peak times, but throughout other points in the day. Passengers now regularly stand for the 50 minutes between Basingstoke and London at peak times, but late-night trains, such as the one I got last Monday that left Waterloo at 10.20 pm, are also full to capacity, and weekend services can see that sort of extreme overcrowding, too. Just to remedy the existing overcrowding, we would need 20% more space on our trains. Passenger numbers are forecast to grow by another 40% in the next 30 years, so now is exactly the right time for a radical redesign and a radical solution for the future.

As rail becomes the overcrowded option, so our roads have to take more of the strain. The knock-on effect is chronic congestion on the M3 and other roads in the local strategic network. I very much welcome this Government’s approach of investing in our roads, and in Basingstoke we have had £20 million allocated to alleviate some of the worst problems of road congestion, but Basingstoke residents are still paying the price for the past under-investment. As the now leader of the council, Councillor Clive Sanders, has made it clear:

“Investment in the railways is vital if Basingstoke is to thrive economically. Connectivity and accessibility are key factors affecting growth.”

We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past, and we have seen this week that this Government are not going to do so. Their commitment to investing in infrastructure is clear for all to see, and the national infrastructure plan launched today is designed to ensure that investment in roads and rail is made part of our long-term economic plan for the country.

I want to put on the record my thanks to Network Rail and the alliance for their hard work in producing the Wessex route study, published just last week, because I believe that, for the first time, it offers a way to get the extra capacity that the Wessex route so badly needs. I know that there are many competing demands for Government spending, but I believe that a strong case can be made for the Wessex route to be a priority of future Government investment.

The main line out of Waterloo serves the most important economic area in Britain. It brings workers into London and serves businesses throughout the south-east. My constituency of Basingstoke is part of that, and our growth in new business was double the average of the south-east last year, with growth expected to continue at a rate of between 4% and 6% in the next year. Basingstoke has seen some 1,000 new businesses formed in the past 12 months, and our draft local plan could mean another 13,400 homes being built in the next 15 years. Along the length of the main line out of Waterloo, thousands of new homes will be built. It is estimated that that will result in 60% more train capacity being needed by 2043—equal to an extra 37 trains an hour into Waterloo on the main line in high peak hours.

More train capacity is needed the entire length of the Wessex route in Hampshire. In the words of Andrew Finney, the president of the Hampshire chamber of commerce:

“The market leading status of the Port of Southampton is threatened by a lack of rail capacity for cruise passengers and rail freight. In linking Coast, National Park and Capital visitor attractions, the route simply has to grow to maximise future tourism opportunities.”

Others have added their voice to calls for that investment. Mr Geoff French, the chairman of the Enterprise M3 local enterprise partnership, has said:

“Good transport communications have always been an important part of Basingstoke’s and indeed all of the Enterprise M3 areas’ development and economic success. Today these transport links are more congested and under greater pressure than ever before. That is why the current Wessex Route Study by Network Rail is so vital…rail capacity improvements are needed urgently.”

The economic case for investment in the Wessex route is strong. It is a compelling case that will support the long-term economic plan for our country. Doing nothing is not an option for Basingstoke, it is not an option for the south-east and it is not an option for the British economy.

As in our road strategy, we need to tackle the problems in the short term and the long term. The route into Waterloo already has more trains on it than any other in the country, with one train a minute arriving at Waterloo across its three routes at peak hours. That is all done on signalling that is 30 years old, as many of my residents can attest, thanks to the delays that they experience. By comparison, Thameslink is investing more than £7 billion to achieve the same frequency of services on modern signalling. In the short term, we will need to squeeze extra capacity from the current rail network, using the additional 150 carriages recently ordered to increase the length of shorter shoulder peak services from Basingstoke into London, to help people to spread their journeys through the day. However, longer trains will also be needed for late-night and weekend services, as well as adjustments in the signalling.

In the long term, the Wessex route study identifies that the additional capacity that is most required is inwards from Basingstoke and Guildford. I think the plan offers a real opportunity of a step change and real solutions. It is now out for consultation and I urge all right hon. and hon. Members to submit their thoughts as part of that consultation.

[Mr Mark Hoban (Fareham) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend is making a very cogent case on the need for extra investment in the routes into Waterloo, but she should not forget the importance of linking large urban centres outside London. The Wessex capacity study talks, for example, about the routes between Portsmouth, Winchester and Basingstoke, and Portsmouth, Southampton and Poole. Those are important centres economically, they are important centres of business, and they are residential areas, too.

[Maria Miller]

As I would expect, my hon. Friend makes the very important point that the Wessex route plan covers not only the main line, but all the surrounding areas. He is absolutely right to say that investment in this plan will yield even greater benefits than those that rely on the main line. If we took forward some of the recommendations in the Wessex route plan, that would be important not only for those of us in that part of the country, but for people throughout the country.

Bigger, faster trains are needed on the Wessex route. When we examine the situation in some detail, we can see that the problems that we are experiencing are akin to some of the problems the airline industry has had to consider in recent years, which led to the development of the Airbus A380. We should be looking at how we can develop longer, faster trains for our route in the long term.

The Wessex route needs to be the Government’s priority for the rail industry’s control period 6. We need to make good the under-investment of the past. In the short term, technical ingenuity will squeeze in some additional space for our local residents, who are suffering some of the worst train overcrowding in the country, and extra carriages at shoulder periods will help, but there will be no real solution in the long term without a significant plan of investment in both the hardware of the route and the vehicles that travel on it. Those bigger, faster trains will help the M3 corridor to continue to provide the power that the British economy needs. We need to ensure that businesses continue to want to locate themselves in the M3 corridor, because the people whom we represent rely on businesses seeing our area as an attractive place in which to locate and providing jobs for them and their families in the future. That certainty and economic success help to ensure that our constituents have the jobs that they need and economic prosperity for the future.

I very much welcome the opportunity afforded by today’s debate to put that message very firmly on the agenda of the Government as they look at their investment in rail in the future. I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend the Minister for coming here today and listening to the debate and to right hon. and hon. Members who have taken the opportunity to come and lend their weight to the case for prioritising the Wessex route.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for, I think, the first time, Mr Streeter. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller) on securing this timely debate. She spoke persuasively about the discomfort many of her constituents face, the inconvenience experienced when services are inadequate and the unacceptable numbers who have to stand on their daily commute and even in the evenings and at weekends.

I would like to take this opportunity to say how welcome it is to face the Minister for the first time. In May, I had the pleasure of travelling through his constituency on the line through Spalding. I know that he is familiar with Nottingham South, because he was a councillor in Wollaton for many years. I am sure that at some point he would be glad to hear about the excellent work his Labour successors are doing in the area.

The Wessex area suffers from serious overcrowding and other capacity constraints. The 07.32 service from Woking to London is reckoned to be the most overcrowded commuter train in the country. The hon. Member for Winchester (Steve Brine) described the uncomfortable commute he and his constituents face from his area. The route study itself says:

“Standing is commonplace from Woking and Basingstoke”,

and those are clearly not the only parts of the route that are affected.

Waterloo is the busiest station in Britain and has the second highest number of train movements on the network. The region has vital freight links, especially from the port of Southampton to the midlands and the north. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw) said, it also provides an important alternative route to the south-west and vital local connections for his constituents.

The Wessex route study is a sobering reminder of the challenges the region faces. According to Network Rail, a 20% boost in capacity is needed to address just the current levels of overcrowding. To meet expected growth in demand, a further 40% increase in capacity is needed by 2043. The question is how that additional 60% can be found.

[Maria Miller]

Would the hon. Lady like to reflect on why we we already have a 20% shortfall in capacity? The former Labour Government encouraged so much demand and so many houses were built in the area, but there was simply no investment in the rail or road networks to make that house building sustainable.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hayes]

Ongoing developments for cycle space provision should be part of all franchises, in my judgment, and from today they will be.

The business decisions of train operators on the issue of first and standard class balance has been raised by a number of hon. Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester. We need to ensure that we make best use of space on trains. That use will vary from time to time and I do not want to make any prescriptive judgment, but discussion of that issue needs to take place regularly, based on a proper analysis of use. If, as has been described, some carriages are empty and others are full to the point of bursting, we need to respond to that situation.

The argument about Heathrow southern access was a really good one. We need to have a new study on that issue, which should begin this autumn and which should be published as soon as possible, ideally—indeed, at the latest—by early next year, and we need to consider what more can be done.

On the issue of car-parking capacity, it is important that we identify demand and sites for car parks, and I am more than happy to commit to working with local councils to do that. Perhaps we just need to drop a line to those local authorities to remind them of our willingness to have that kind of dialogue, particularly where we know, from Members across the House, that there are pressing problems. There is a history at certain stations of parking issues, so perhaps we can initiate some new thinking on that.

When they think of railways, everyone thinks of Stephenson; some, with a more curious turn of mind, think also of Hodgkinson; and all romantics—such as you and me, Mr Streeter—think of Jenny Agutter and John Betjeman, do we not? We think of “The Railway Children” and Betjeman’s advocacy of the romance of rail. To that end, I would be very happy to facilitate contact with Network Rail to allow the steam train that the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes, who has ministerial responsibility for rail, has pressed for. Indeed, the case for that train was amplified today by my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire. Let us allow this to happen, and in that spirit let us look again at the historic estate. We have many old railway stations, some of which could be brought back into use. We also have many glorious signal boxes; more of them should be listed. Let us once again be bold and ambitious to have our dream of the romance of rail, and turn that dream into a reality.

My right hon. Friend talked about the capacity issue. Of course, his area will benefit from the commitment to increase capacity at Waterloo during the period between 2014 and 2019, and from proposals to “grade separate” working junctions in control period 6. I will come on to that in a moment, because it is important to say first that the process for identifying possible investments and upgrades for the next control period—between 2019 and 2024—began recently. As such, there are opportunities for my right hon. Friend, other Members and the public in general to contribute to this process and to influence the Government’s next rail investment strategy.

When these drafts are issued, it is important that right hon. and hon. Members understand that they can play a part in shaping the final outcomes. When I last spoke on railway matters, I emphasised that these things are not set in stone. The whole process is by its nature consultative, and drafts should not be deemed to be the final word on these matters, but instead a catalyst for fresh thinking, with right hon. and hon. Members playing a vital role in the process.

I return to the specific part of the railway under discussion today. Network Rail recently published its draft Wessex route study for just that kind of consultation. It highlights the network constraints in the area of Basingstoke, which include a mix of speed limits and the confluence of several lines. Due to its location on the south-west main line, Basingstoke suffers from the convergence of several routes further up the line at Woking, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke suggested.

For those reasons, two of Network Rail’s emerging priorities for the next control period are, as I said earlier when dealing with my right hon. Friend’s questions, to “grade separate” the junctions at Woking and Basingstoke. For the benefit of those Members who do not speak in railway terms, as I myself did not until very recently, that term refers to the lifting, via a bridge, or dropping, via a tunnel, of a track over or under another, which means that trains moving in one direction do not get in the way of trains going in the other direction, preventing some of the frustrating stopping and starting with which many rail travellers are familiar.

In addition, the draft route study sets out options for the possible introduction of double-decker trains between Basingstoke and London; such trains were mentioned earlier in the debate. Although they are a common sight in other European countries, they have not really appeared on the British rail network, partly due to the height of some of our Victorian tunnels and bridges. As I have said, because I value the historic estate I would not want to see those tunnels and bridges being disregarded. Nevertheless, while the introduction of double-decker trains would necessitate the adaptation of the network, Network Rail is of the view that they may be a viable option on certain lines, and I am sure that my right hon. Friend and her constituents would relish the chance to lead the roll-out of such exciting technology on their line, becoming early beneficiaries of the additional capacity that it would bring.

Let me reiterate that these ideas are some of the emerging views for control period 6. The draft route study has been articulated and published by Network Rail, based on the information available to it at the time the route study was published. Indeed, the document acknowledges that the dominant issue is the need to provide sufficient capacity in peak periods, and consequently it has focused on developing choices to address that issue where needed, such as options to increase peak main-line capacity through use of new technology and “grade separated” junctions.

To that end, Network Rail is working with Transport for London, local authorities along the route and other stakeholders better to understand their views on these matters. My right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke eloquently and clearly outlined the other pressures that are likely to affect capacity. I know that she is concerned that the housing growth that is planned in and around her constituency will have a dramatic impact on that demand-supply balance.

I want my right hon. Friend to know today that I understand that concern, and that the Government appreciate the point she made about the importance of ensuring that wider policies are fully taken into account when capacity on this line is being planned. The case she has made has been heard by the Government and will be built into our further considerations.

[Maria Miller]

I thank the Minister for giving way; he is generous with his time. It is incredibly reassuring to hear what he is saying, because at this point in time it appears that house-building levels are not taken into account when future capacity is determined, and indeed that capacity is more likely to be determined by the number of new jobs generated in London than by the number of houses being built in my constituency, or indeed in the constituencies of my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Steve Brine) and my right hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Sir George Young). We need to make sure that this issue is taken into account, so that we can ensure that the proper increase in capacity on the line is put in place now.

[Mr Hayes]

My right hon. Friend needs to know that Basingstoke, North West Hampshire and Winchester are never far from my mind, and that they have been brought to the forefront of my mind today. As a result of this debate, I will ask my officials to take into account the views she has articulated and to make it perfectly clear that—in a proper, joined-up and coherent way—we consider some of the effects of growing population and the likelihood of that growth increasing demand for rail use. It would certainly be a fitting tribute to her and to the debate she has stimulated today for me to deliver that fresh thinking for her, which is precisely what I will try to do.

I think that the issue of ticketing was raised by my right hon. Friend—my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester mentioned it as well—and I am open to further consideration of the options, in terms of technological changes, that would speed up the ticketing process. I am also mindful of what my right hon. Friend said about fares. My commitment on fares is very clear.