West Anglia Rail Line

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Lord Haselhurst

Wednesday 11th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Hammond]

My hon. Friend is right to point out the concerns of his constituents. As Ministers, we try not to get into the micro-management of the toilets of various stations, as he will understand. None the less, I will look at the matter.

The point which I hope my hon. Friend will consider is that, yes, there are some concerns about ticket offices and this is a feature across the whole network, but many people are choosing to buy their tickets in different ways. Although important, ticket offices are not central to many people’s buying habits. He is right that there should be facilities, and there has been a new stations fund and a station improvement fund.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Saffron Walden spoke about the new franchises and what might happen. I hope he might have had a chance to look at the east coast prospectus. Although we are not saying that every new franchise will be of a particular length, we are encouraging longer franchises, particularly in that franchise and the prospectus that we have released. I hope my right hon. and hon. Friends will acknowledge that we have given the operators the chance to recognise some of the things they could do to the benefit of customers outside the standard package. There is a real determination from the Department in the new round of franchising to understand that the consumer must be at the heart of the franchise bids. I hope the prospectus that we have released for the east coast main line will show that.

There is demand not only at the southern end of the line. Cambridge is a fast- growing economy, making a significant contribution to the local and the national economy. That is why we continue to make significant investments in that part of the route as well. The station at Cambridge will undergo significant redevelopment, provided the planning authority comes through. In addition, we are working with Network Rail and Cambridgeshire county council to develop plans for a new station at Chesterton, approximately 2 miles north of the city centre, as well as providing direct access to the rapidly expanding science park, for which rail connections are key.

Throughout the line brand-new 379 class trains are already operating the service between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge, which is benefiting customers along the whole West Anglia main line, including, as my right hon. Friend rightly acknowledged, his constituency, particularly at Audley End. These trains are modern, spacious, high performing, high capacity and highly reliable, and they are widely recognised by passengers as a benefit and an increase in the service.

I shall make a few specific remarks about my right hon. Friend’s constituency, or I would be castigated for failing to do so. I have just mentioned the 379 class trains and I know he recognised that his constituents were benefiting from them. I hope the introduction of those trains will see continually improving reliability on the route. My right hon. Friend, as well as my hon. Friends the Members for Harlow and for Hertford and Stortford, commented on the concern about overcrowding. This is undoubtedly the challenge for the next decade. It is the challenge of the success of the railways. Twenty years ago I used to travel from Hertford North and Hertford East. Services may or may not have got worse in the past 10 years, but they are a significant improvement on 20 years ago when the line was known for its unreliability. This is the challenge of success. Privatisation has brought a doubling of the number of passengers on broadly the same network as we had 40 years ago. That success means that we now have to meet the challenge of overcrowding.

With the introduction of the new Thameslink trains, which will come into service post 2016, and some of the financing of that rolling stock cascade, there will be an opportunity for the trains currently being used on Thameslink to be cascaded to other locations. There is no reason why they could not be used on the West Anglia rail line in future.

[Sir Alan Haselhurst]

My hon. Friend moved rather swiftly from lauding the type 379 as a high-performance train to identifying some Thameslink trains that might be passed down to us. There is quite a distinction there. I had rather hoped that he might indicate that we would not lose the 379s in the way I suggested, or indeed that he might try to give some encouragement to the idea that whoever gets the franchise after 2016 will be committed to having more of the 379s or their equivalent.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Lord Haselhurst

Thursday 27th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Hammond]

I visited the DVLA only a couple of weeks ago to look at the various departments there, and I know that the agency is alert to the problems of fraudulent car park operators. If the hon. Gentleman brings this particular case to me, I will make sure that we look into it.

[Sir Alan Haselhurst (Saffron Walden) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State accept that the transformation of the passenger experience at Stansted airport needs to be matched by a transformation in the time it takes to get to Stansted airport, specifically an improvement on the 51-minute journey, which I understand he undertook a week ago?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Lord Haselhurst

Thursday 28th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Hammond]

I give the assurance, as I gave the hon. Lady’s Select Committee, that we will ensure that local knowledge is transferred post-closure through the pairing arrangements that are in place prior to a closure. I intend to ensure that if there are any lessons to be learned, we learn them so that that local knowledge is passed on.

[Sir Alan Haselhurst (Saffron Walden) (Con)]

8. When he expects to meet the new owners of Stansted Airport.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Lord Haselhurst

Thursday 18th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Hammond]

I will of course be delighted to meet my hon. Friend and any other colleagues he feels would be appropriate.

[Sir Alan Haselhurst (Saffron Walden) (Con)]

Accepting that half a loaf is better than no bread, will my hon. Friend nevertheless acknowledge that a much more substantial scheme for improving track capacity on that line is the only way to provide commuters and passengers travelling to or from Stansted airport with the kind of service that by now should be seen as essential—and may I join the meeting?