Rail Connections to London: Rural Towns
Peter Fortune Excerpts(2 days, 8 hours ago)
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Julia Buckley
My hon. Friend has made a powerful point about the need to visit these beautiful spots around the country.
A loop of the River Severn encircles our medieval town with a beating modern heart on the border with Wales. However, before all Members in the Chamber rush to book their weekend break to Shrewsbury, I must tell them that there is a slight problem: how can anyone get there from here? Shropshire is the only county in the UK without a direct train service to London.
Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)
The hon. Member is making an excellent speech, and I empathise with her, because communities in Biggin Hill in my constituency are also completely without a railway station. Although the distance to Biggin Hill is 12 miles as the crow flies, it takes an absolute age to get there. Does she agree that such communities need to be served by efficient bus services, which are just as important?
Oral Answers to Questions
Peter Fortune Excerpts(1 year, 4 months ago)
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Louise Haigh
As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, the Minister has already asked National Highways to meet the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues to discuss those important issues. We will place statutory duties and stretching freight targets on Great British Railways to encourage freight off the roads and on to the railways, but we are absolutely considering the specific congestion issues in the south-west as we look towards the road investment strategy.
Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)
An increasing amount of Transport for London’s funding comes from punitive taxes on motorists, including those in my constituency of Bromley and Biggin Hill. There are reports that the Mayor of London was actively planning to charge drivers up to 60p a mile to drive. Will the Secretary of State take the opportunity to discourage the mayor from introducing pay-per-mile road user charging across Greater London?
Louise Haigh
I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is fully aware that the mayor has repeatedly made it clear that he has no plans to act on road user charging.