Rail Connectivity

Nusrat Ghani Excerpts

Friday 19th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Leigh (Jo Platt) on securing this debate. As she knows, the Government are committed to creating a northern powerhouse to rebalance our economy. Improvements in transport connectivity are central to that and support a broader strategy for building that northern powerhouse, including investment in business, innovation, health, agriculture and culture, which the hon. Lady mentioned.

Between 2015 and 2020, the Government will spend over £13 billion improving and modernising northern transport—this is the biggest transport investment in the region for a generation—and we are also committed to giving the great towns and cities of the north more say over transport investment through Transport for the North. As part of that plan, the northern powerhouse rail programme aims to dramatically improve connections between major cities across the north of England. Transport for the North is considering a range of options, including whether other significant economic centres could be served by northern powerhouse rail. We will receive a business case from Transport for the North later this year.

Before addressing Leigh, I will highlight the significant transport investment already under way in Greater Manchester and across the north to support the northern powerhouse. We are investing around £40 billion in our network as part of our biggest rail modernisation programme for more than a century to provide faster journeys and more comfortable trains. That includes delivering improved journeys for passengers right across the north.

Through the growth deal process, the Government have provided the Greater Manchester local enterprise partnership with £663.4 million to support its investment in transport to provide a better integrated transport network across Greater Manchester. As part of the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises, and as part of the Great North Rail project that is currently being delivered, Wigan will benefit from the frequency of trains to Manchester via Atherton being increased to four an hour using newly refurbished trains. The rail route between Liverpool and Wigan has also been upgraded.

By 2033, up to 18 trains will be running each hour on High Speed 2, carrying up to 1,100 passengers each. HS2 will free up space on our existing railways for new commuter, regional and freight services. During construction, it will generate 25,000 jobs and 2,000 apprenticeships. It will also support growth in the wider economy, worth an additional 100,000 jobs.

The Government have given £2.5 million to Greater Manchester to develop a local growth strategy that will propose ways of spreading the benefits of HS2 beyond the immediate station vicinity and improving connectivity from HS2 stations to the wider conurbation. The Government will continue to work with Greater Manchester to help to deliver those plans.

Leigh will be able to access HS2 services from multiple locations, including Wigan, Manchester airport and Manchester Piccadilly, which is readily accessible by public transport from Leigh, including via the new busway. HS2 will also join the west coast main line at Golborne, south of Wigan, as well as at Crewe. By linking to the west coast main line, HS2 will deliver benefits to areas such as Preston and Lancaster in north-west England and all the way up to Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. Growth strategies developed by local areas will also play an important part in spreading the regeneration benefits of HS2 beyond those places it serves directly.

[Jo Platt]

The Minister talks about connecting to HS2, but it will take more than an hour for some of my constituents in Mosley Common to travel into Wigan by public transport. How will they access HS2 in good time? It will take passengers less time to travel from Wigan to Birmingham.

[Ms Ghani]

I am pleased the hon. Lady does not deny all the benefits that HS2 will bring to the area. There has been investment in public services, and a lot of these decisions have been devolved to the local Mayor, whom she can challenge to take up the case. She cannot deny the opportunities that HS2 has opened up to the region.

As the Chancellor announced at the Budget, the £1.7 billion transforming cities fund will address weaknesses in city transport systems in order to raise productivity and spread prosperity. It will fund new local transport links, making it easier to travel between more prosperous city centres and frequently struggling suburbs. That will help to ensure that people across the country have better options to combine different modes of transport by supporting projects that will improve connectivity, reduce congestion and introduce new mobility services and technology.

We have already seen the impact of better integrated transport links for both passengers and the local economy in cities such as Nottingham and Manchester. The new transforming cities fund will enable more English cities to reap those benefits, helping to deliver the opportunities and ambition of the industrial strategy across the country, as well as driving forward the northern powerhouse and the midlands engine. Greater Manchester will receive £243 million from the transforming cities fund. As part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, it will be for the Mayor and the GMCA to decide whether to use this allocation to develop projects to improve connectivity in the Leigh area—I hope that helps to address the earlier question.

The Government have been very clear that we need better travel connections in the north. To address this, we are already spending record amounts on transformational projects, such as HS2 and the Great North Rail project; new trains and extra services, through improved franchises; and £3 billion on roads to make journeys faster and more reliable. Of course, investment in the north is crucial, and we are demonstrating that, but there is also a need for a long-term strategy to drive those investment decisions—a strategy developed by the north for the north. Pioneering legislation to transform Transport for the North into the first ever statutory sub-national transport body, with legal powers and duties, was approved by Parliament this week. Also this week, Transport for the North published its draft strategic transport plan for consultation. As a result of TfN’s new powers, coming into force on 1 April, the Secretary of State will formally consider the north’s strategy when taking national decisions.

I welcome the publication this week of the draft strategic transport plan, which is an important step in the north speaking with one voice to set out its vision for transport in the region over the next 30 years. I encourage Members to respond to TfN’s public consultation. The north’s unprecedented role in national transport planning will ensure that links between transport and economic development are maximised. We see the establishment of TfN as a significant step for the north and the country.

[Liz Twist]

As the Minister says, we have seen the launch of the transport strategy for the north, and we will indeed be responding to it as local Members. May I ask her to ensure that when the decisions are made, we will get our fair share of the funding to turn those plans into reality and really make a difference for our regions?

[Ms Ghani]

This is why it is so crucial that as many Members as possible put forward their ideas and make sure we have their input in the plan, because all Members who add in their information will find that all that data will be put together and will have to be taken into account for those decisions to be made. I encourage Members to make a strong case for their regions and constituencies.

The north’s unprecedented role in national transport planning will ensure that links between transport and economic development are maximised. We see the establishment of TfN as a significant step for the north and the country. It will work with the region’s transport authorities and elected Mayors to build a long-term vision for transport across the north of England. As the voice of the north on transport, TfN will also have unprecedented influence over Government funding and decision making. What this Government are clearly demonstrating is that, in setting up TfN and backing the election of metro mayors, we are giving the north greater autonomy and control, and a powerful voice to articulate the case for new transport projects.

I am, of course, aware that Leigh is the largest northern town without a rail station. We recognise that that appears to be an anomaly, especially given the fact that Leigh had a station for more than a century between September 1864 and May 1969. We are also aware that the Leigh area rail study of January 2012, produced by Transport for Greater Manchester and Wigan Council, stated in its recommendations:

“A wider business case, which included regeneration benefits to Leigh, could be explored in the context of supporting potential future funding bids, but the significant gap between costs and projected benefits of the scheme must be recognised.”

Since that report, there has of course been much rail investment in the north, as well as a number of major reports on the future, all with the aim of enhancing the north’s infrastructure and the services it supports. Leigh has seen some positive developments, with the arrival of the £122 million Vantage guided busway, which provides fast and efficient links into Manchester. It is also important to state that the integration of local, pan-northern and national transport networks of all types is a key focus for TfN.

The Government have, through the years, consistently explained to local representatives, including the hon. Member for Leigh, that, as is the case elsewhere in England, it is for local bodies to determine whether opening a rail station is the best way of addressing local and regional economic development needs, and to secure appropriate funding, including from that made available from government for such purposes through growth and devolution deals.

When he was the Rail Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard) met the hon. Member for Leigh on 29 November 2017 to address her concerns about HS2 and to provide advice on how her proposal could be taken forward. The hon. Lady was given the contact details of officials at Transport for Greater Manchester and encouraged to engage with them so that they might consider whether a new station at Leigh could play a role in their plans. She will be pleased to hear that Transport for Greater Manchester will soon commence a new study to examine all potential stations in Greater Manchester and review the possible benefits of investment. The sites that are deemed to be potentially viable will be subject to a full business case, which could be put forward for funding in due course.

[Jo Platt]

rose—

[Ms Ghani]

I shall make some progress because the hon. Lady will want some time to respond.

People in Leigh will be able to access HS2 services from multiple locations, including Wigan, Manchester airport and Manchester Piccadilly station, which is readily accessible from Leigh by public transport, including by use of the new busway. HS2 will join the west coast main line at Golborne, south of Wigan, as well as at Crewe. By linking to the west coast main line, HS2 will deliver benefits to areas such as Preston and Lancaster in north-west England, all the way up to Glasgow, Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland. The growth strategies that are developed by local areas will also play an important part in spreading the regeneration benefits of HS2 beyond those places it serves directly.

I hope I have answered the hon. Lady’s questions and addressed her concerns, and that I have assured the House that the best way to drive railway improvements is to support our strategic vision for rail, which includes the north of England having, in Transport for the North, a new and powerful voice to articulate its future transport needs.

I apologise that I had not realised that the hon. Lady cannot respond; I will take an intervention now.

[Jo Platt]

The meeting with Transport for Greater Manchester was really successful, and I welcomed the advice of the previous Minister about meeting Transport for Greater Manchester and Transport for the North. My concern is that the strategic plans and frameworks are for 20, 30 or 40 years’ time, so generations of young people in Leigh will not feel the benefit.

[Ms Ghani]

We have discussed a variety of ways that investment is being put into the hon. Lady’s area. The plans are in place now; they are not just for future generations. People say that when they talk about HS2, but there is solid investment in the region and in the hon. Lady’s constituency, be that in busways or the rail network. The investment is in place. The work that followed the meetings with the previous Rail Minister will continue, and I encourage the hon. Lady to speak to the people responsible who have the powers locally and to continue to engage with them.

Question put and agreed to.