Roger Williams
Main Page: Roger Williams (Liberal Democrat - Brecon and Radnorshire)Department Debates - View all Roger Williams's debates with the Wales Office
(13 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mrs Gillan
My hon. Friend knows that we plan to invest £14 billion over the next four years to fund maintenance and investment in our railways. Whatever we end up with when an announcement is made, he can rest assured that we have left no stone unturned in making the case for electrification into Wales.
Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)
Electrification will take many years to complete, so will the Secretary of State consult the franchisee to see whether we can have direct routes from London Paddington to Bristol, Newport and Cardiff, thereby reducing the journey time to that achieved 20 years ago?
Mrs Gillan
My hon. Friend is right. I have already met First Great Western on that very subject, and I will continue to hold meetings. We appreciate that we are talking about a crucial project but, as my hon. Friend knows, the last Government had 13 years, and all they came up with was a cheap promise and no funding to back it up.