Oral Answers to Questions

Steve Race Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2026 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Steve Race (Exeter) (Lab)]

1. What steps she is taking to support the delivery of mass transit systems.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Heidi Alexander)]

The delivery of mass transit systems has too often been slowed down by fragmented funding arrangements, difficulties in acquiring land and complex planning processes. Our new mass transit taskforce, made up of an independent panel of experts, will make practical recommendations on how we can speed up delivery and remove some of the blockers. We are also committed to devolving new powers, including Transport and Works Act 1992 orders, to ensure that local leaders have all the tools they need to deliver mass transit schemes quickly and efficiently.

[Steve Race]

People in Exeter love using the railway, and Devon was the first area to get back to and exceed pre-covid levels of rail travel, but our local and regional railway is hampered by under-investment. We do not need a new mass transit system, but we do want the one we have already to be frequent, reliable and resilient. Would the Secretary of State meet me and local stakeholders to see how we can make the Devon metro concept a reality?

[Heidi Alexander]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for all his work on public transport in Exeter and the wider Devon area. He and I have met colleagues in this place, and I am willing to continue that conversation about how we can ensure that people in Devon have a reliable, frequent rail service and the connectivity that they need as much as people do in other parts of the country.