Rail Services: Devon

Rebecca Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 11th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Steve Race]

I absolutely agree that for many people in the lowest-paid jobs or who work night shifts, the lack of transport over the Christmas holidays and at regular times is a real challenge.

Research commissioned by the Rail Delivery Group shows that the rail industry generated £1.1 billion in economic, environmental and social benefits to the south-west over the previous year, and that rail customers contributed £2.7 billion through spending in local communities. If we secure 40% rail growth by 2035 by delivering improvements to our network, that could bring an additional £700 million in benefits to the south-west. Greenhouse gas emissions locally would decrease by 1,200 tonnes; congestion, which blights my city, would be reduced by 8 million hours; and 72 road traffic accidents would be prevented.

At the moment, according to projections by the Railway Industry Association, rail travel is expected to grow by an average of 1.6% annually over the next three decades. That would equate to a 20% increase in rail usage by 2035, potentially raising the industry’s contribution to regional benefits to about £1.5 billion. So, an increase of 40% might seem like a stretch, but it is not beyond our capabilities if we get things right in Devon. I hear those present asking, “How could we deliver such an increase?” As Members from Devon who are present will know, there are a significant number of projects at various stages of readiness that could be initiated to achieve that 40% increase.

First of all, there are the Dawlish sea wall works. Alongside considering expansion, we must consider the resilience of our current rail network, keeping the gains that we have already made. When the devastating storm of 2014 hit, the sea wall at Dawlish collapsed. Alongside the cliff wall collapses, that meant that the only rail line west of Exeter, Brunel’s magnificent main line into Devon and Cornwall, was severed, cutting off the majority of our peninsula from the rest of the rail network.

The south west rail resilience programme was enacted across five phases to repair and enhance the sea wall, repair the cliff walls and enhance the line. Phase 5 runs from Parson’s Tunnel to Teignmouth and is focused on stabilising the cliff face, so that it does not fall on the railway line again. It is a vital part of the project that is yet to be signed off. In the south-west, we are well aware that ever more numerous and ever more devastating storms are sweeping across our peninsula every year, so resilience must be prioritised to protect the rail system.

Secondly, improving our rail resilience in Devon and across the south-west means reducing total reliance on the Brunel line. We have an alternative that we can build upon—the partial restoration of the Exeter-Plymouth line north of Dartmoor via Okehampton and Tavistock. The reopening of the Exeter-Okehampton line has been an enormous success, opening up and connecting communities along the way. The previously mothballed rail line that runs between Okehampton and Exeter was restored in just nine months and delivered at £10 million under its £50 million budget. It opened in November 2021 and in the three years since it reopened, 775,000 journeys have been made on that line, far exceeding the expectations ahead of its reopening. Indeed, October 2024 saw 40,000 journeys to and from Okehampton on that line, which is a new monthly record. The appetite for rail journeys is clearly there in Devon.

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

I absolutely welcome the hon. Member’s comments about the success of the Exeter-Okehampton line; the figures speak for themselves. Does he agree that the success of that line highlights why the cost of keeping the Tavistock-Plymouth line going, as set out in its business case, is a really small ask—only 1% of the cost of the rebuilding railways project nationally—and that our little bit of that previous scheme would be very welcome in our region, particularly in Devon?

[Steve Race]

I thank the hon. Member for that intervention. I agree that what we need across Devon is to look at all these shovel-ready projects from business case onwards, to work out what will deliver the most economic value for our region and to support the mission to get economic growth going.

Connecting Okehampton to Tavistock, and connecting Tavistock to Plymouth—making sure that work continues —will create an alternative through route that will increase resilience in Devon and better connect the economies of both Exeter and Plymouth deeper into Devon, delivering much-needed growth and opportunity across our county.

Thirdly, the Salisbury-Exeter section of the South Western line is currently largely single-track; in fact, 75% of it is single-track. That has a huge impact on the available capacity of the line, and of course punctuality. Only about 54% to 66% of trains on that section currently run on time and the regularity of the service can really only stand at about one train per hour due to the constraints on the track.

Investing in passing loops through and around Tisbury, Whimple and Honiton west of Feniton, and investment in signalling that has not been updated for 40 years, will enable more journeys and better punctuality on a line that is vital for completing the Devon Metro project. That project aims to integrate and enhance rail services in the Exeter travel-to-work area, which will aid Exeter’s vital strategic position as the gateway to the south-west peninsula. It will bring communities across Devon together in one transport network that can deliver trains at least every half hour, and up to every 15 minutes. People in London may well raise their eyebrows at that.

Fourthly, I want to mention the North Devon Railway Development Alliance, members of which I met recently. They impressed on me the importance of their vision for a complete modernisation of the Exeter-Barnstaple line, allowing potential improvement outcomes.

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[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard, and I am delighted to follow my colleagues from across Devon; I know that some others will be speaking shortly. Hon. Members who listened to my maiden speech will have noticed that I have committed to fighting for railway and transport in the south-west, so when I saw that there would be a debate today, I thought, “Well, I’ve got to come along and make sure I play my part.” Sadly, there will be no mentions of Kylie Minogue’s “The Loco-Motion” today, but if hon. Members want to read my maiden speech, they are welcome to.

What is clear in all things to do with the railway in the south-west, and particularly in Devon, is that we are looking for parity with the rest of the country. That has been alluded to particularly in the context of HS2. I know that HS2 has historically had cross-party support, but right from the beginning, I thought, “Hang on a minute, what about the south-west? Journey times that are a few minutes shorter on an already easy transport route from London to the midlands, versus what we get in the south-west?” I have never completely followed the argument, but we are where we are today.

It is important to acknowledge what the previous Government did in terms of taking responsibility for the south-west. We must not forget that £165 million was invested in the south-west rail resilience programme, and that got us almost to where we are today. We just need the final piece of the jigsaw to ensure that the line that takes us down into the south-west is secure. We must give credit where credit is due.

It is important to remember that, as I talked about in my maiden speech, the south-west is not just a tourist attraction. People live there and there is an enormous opportunity for even further growth. We are an incredibly vibrant economy: the blue and green economies are growing, and we are keen to grow, but without an adequate rail service into the south-west, that is massively hindered. Like Exeter, my constituency of South West Devon has a joint local plan that is already being delivered, but infrastructure is key, and I will touch briefly on that towards the end of my speech. My main question for the Minister is: what difference will public ownership of the railway make for the south-west? That is the big question overarching everything else.

I want to touch briefly on Old Oak Common, the Tavistock railway and Ivybridge, which is in my constituency. I want to touch on Old Oak Common because the recent helpful letter from the Rail Minister talks about a pot of £30 million for capital investments to mitigate the impact of disruption, which begs the question: what will it be spent on? It would be interesting to hear some detail. I think we can all make pitches for what that should cover: wi-fi has been touched on; and I will mention the Plymouth to Tavistock line—a nice project that would cost a fraction of the £30 million. We also have some challenges with platform lengths that prevent certain trains from stopping in my constituency.

At the moment, the benefits outlined in that letter, which says that we will be able to get connections to the north and the midlands, do not pass the “So what?” test, because we can already get to the midlands and the north from the south-west directly without having to go across to London in a triangle. Although it will help some connectivity, it does not stack up for constituents in Devon to know that they could go to London to get to Birmingham, when they could go straight to Birmingham from Plymouth or Exeter. I acknowledge that the easier access to Heathrow may be helpful, but again, it is of limited value.

That leads me to rebuilding Britain’s railway. The rail Minister provided a helpful answer that said that the Department is

“reviewing individual former RYR projects, including the Tavistock to Plymouth line.”

The ask has now been scaled back: they are asking for just 1% of the RYR budget, which is the seed money to finalise the business plan so that we can get to a point where we are shovel-ready for 2028. The hon. Member for Exeter (Steve Race) has already highlighted the appetite that we can see from the Okehampton line. It is also worth saying that it makes us more resilient, because we can ultimately create a circle that will go from Exeter all the way round to Plymouth and back, and that does not require Dawlish. In the next 10 or 15 years, that will be part of building rail resilience.

The project is just looking for 1%, which is less than £1.5 million and could be part of that £30 million capital—I do not know whether it counts as capital or revenue, but the question is when the decision can be expected and when the Department will feed back on whether that line is one of those that will be considered. That point links up, again, to the joint local plan. We have a metro rail plan for Plymouth that includes a station at Plympton in my constituency, which would be part of that circle that goes round to Ivybridge and up.

I wanted to mention Ivybridge, which is also in my constituency. At the moment, only 16 Great Western trains stop there a day. There are 29 CrossCountry services that go through the station but do not stop, and at the moment CrossCountry is refusing to do that. In light of the nationalisation plans, I would be interested to know what measures the Department might be able to take to put pressure on CrossCountry, so that 16 becomes 45 weekday services that my constituents could use to access the wider area.

[Mark Pritchard (in the Chair)]

We come now to the Front-Bench speeches: five minutes for the Liberal Democrats, five minutes for the official Opposition and 10 minutes for the Minister.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Pritchard. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Steve Race) on securing this debate on the future of rail services in Devon, and I thank all hon. Members for their contributions today, including the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who is no longer in his place, for his intervention.

I also thank the hon. Member for Torbay (Steve Darling), who mentioned the issue of internet, and I just want to say that free wifi is available on GWR services. However, I am aware that there are certainly connectivity issues on parts of the network, and I have asked my officials to explore the feasibility of a range of technology options to improve passenger connectivity on the rail network. The Department is also conducting research to measure the strength of mobile signals along the rail network to understand fully where interventions are needed and the potential impacts. I thank the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith)—I was devastated by the lack of Kylie Minogue references in her speech, but I will come on to some of the issues that she raised. Her fantastic maiden speech had many a reference to Kylie Minogue tunes, including “The Loco-Motion”. I also thank the hon. Member for Exmouth and Exeter East (David Reed).

This Government recognise the importance of rail services in Devon. As we have heard today, the transport network is key for providing the connectivity to support economic development, including housing and employment growth, as well as tourism. Since the pandemic, the south-west has seen a strong recovery in rail passenger numbers, especially in the leisure market. Passenger journeys in Devon are up by 9% compared with 2019, while nationally they remain about 6% lower. We know that many services in Devon are often very busy, particularly on Fridays and weekends. We have now authorised and funded additional trains that are due to enter service on CrossCountry routes from May 2025, providing improved connectivity across Britain.

[Rebecca Smith]

I welcome what the Minister is saying. On a point of interest, it would perhaps be worth looking at the numbers on a Thursday. In line with most of the country, Thursday is the new Friday, and I am sure that most of my colleagues in the room will testify to the challenge of getting a train out of London on a Thursday, because everybody wants to go back to Reading. With all due respect, it might be worth looking at the numbers on a Thursday, to help us with our case for more capacity in the south-west.

[Simon Lightwood]

I thank the hon. Member for her contribution. I am convinced that the civil servants in the Department for Transport will be looking at numbers across the week, just to reassure her. The reintroduction of daily passenger services on the Okehampton line has seen strong passenger demand since regular services were launched in 2021; these were enhanced to hourly services in 2022. This Government are committed to building on that success, with work progressing on Okehampton Interchange, a new station to the east of Okehampton that is due to open in 2026. The station will become a hub for trains and buses, with improved walking and cycling links. Another new station, Marsh Barton in Exeter, opened in July 2023 and has already seen nearly 130,000 journeys.

Although it is great to see more people in Devon using the rail network, the Government want to see further improvements. We have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers. Cancellations are at a 10-year high and punctuality is inconsistent across the network. We need to improve services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.

We have taken immediate action. Ministers continue to meet the managing directors of train companies and their Network Rail counterparts to address poor performance and demand action to raise standards. A resilient railway is crucial to the economy, not just in Devon and the south-west, but right across the country. That is why £165 million has been invested to date in the south-west rail resilience programme at Dawlish, providing better journey reliability for rail travellers in the south-west.

Industry studies are also under way to build the case for additional passing loops between Exeter and Salisbury at known locations where trains are delayed as they wait for other trains passing in the opposite direction. I encourage my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter to work with the industry, funding providers and other route MPs in supporting the work on these passing loops.

I am aware that several hon. Members have shown strong support for a number of the potential rail projects that have been referred to today. Ministers have been clear, however, that in the context of the financial situation that the Government inherited, it will not be possible to afford the delivery of all proposed projects. The Secretary of State is conducting a thorough review of the previous Government’s transport plans to ensure that our transport infrastructure portfolio drives economic growth and delivers value for money for taxpayers.

I am also aware that my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter has been campaigning for lifts at Exeter St Thomas and Polsloe Bridge stations in his constituency. The Government are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. I am unable to comment on specific stations at this point, but we remain committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognise the social and economic benefits that improving accessibility brings to communities. In the meantime, if any passenger cannot use a particular station, the train operator is obliged to offer alternative transport at no additional cost.

Finally, I want to address the impact of Old Oak Common on services between Devon and London. This new station is a crucial enabler for the Government’s growth mission. However, I recognise my hon. Friend’s concerns about the impact of the works there on rail services for his constituents, both during and post construction. The next phase of the work will take place this Christmas and will see changes to the GWR services from 27 to 29 December. Some inter-city services will divert to London Euston; some will terminate at Reading or Ealing Broadway.

Passenger communications are happening now to enable passengers to make choices about how and when they travel. I am aware that the rail Minister has met many south-west MPs, including my hon. Friend, to discuss the matter. I confirm that the Government will continue working with industry partners to ensure that disruption for passengers using the Great Western main line is kept to a minimum, both during construction and once services are in operation.

I thank my hon. Friend again for securing this debate on the future of rail services in Devon. I fully acknowledge and appreciate the importance of the issue to him and his constituents.

The Opposition spokesman, the hon. Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew), raised the issue of GWR’s performance, including on Sundays specifically. The Government recognise that performance on Great Western Railway services is not where it needs to be. This is due to a range of issues, including infrastructure and fleet reliability, as well as the availability of train crew, which has resulted in higher levels of Sunday cancellations in recent months. Officials and GWR are actively working to address the issue.

CrossCountry has also been mentioned. CrossCountry provides vital inter-city rail services linking Plymouth and Exeter with Birmingham, Yorkshire, north-east England and Edinburgh, as well as offering popular “through services” between Torbay and Manchester. Since September, it has seen its passenger numbers return to pre-covid levels. I acknowledge that CrossCountry services are often very busy, particularly on Fridays and weekends—and perhaps also on Thursdays. The size of the CrossCountry inter-city fleet has been an issue for some time; this has been exacerbated by the retirement of CrossCountry’s fleet of five high-speed trains in September 2023, which operated on the Edinburgh-Plymouth route.

The Government are determined to deliver improved train services for passengers. To reduce crowding, the Department has authorised and funded 12 additional Voyager trains, which are due to enter passenger service on CrossCountry routes in May 2025. This will increase the Voyager fleet by over 20% and will enable CrossCountry to provide thousands more seats per week across its network. The first three of these cascaded trains are already in service. The entire CrossCountry train fleet is also due to be refurbished over the next few years, offering new seats, additional luggage space and other improvements that will benefit passengers.

As the hon. Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord) noted, there will be a separate Westminster Hall debate on Old Oak Common, so I will say no more about it at this time.

Hon. Members raised points about accessibility. Since the election, we have been carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. Department for Transport Ministers are not able to comment on the next steps for Access for All’s projects at specific stations, including Exeter St Thomas station, but Members can be assured that we are committed to improving accessibility of the railway and we recognise the social and economic benefits that it brings.

I congratulate the hon. Member for Exeter once more on securing the debate. I look forward to working with everybody to improve rail connections across the country.