Rail Investment

Stuart Andrew Excerpts

Thursday 17th February 2011 Westminster Hall

[Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) (Con)]

As a good Anglesey lad, may I say what a pleasure it is to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Owen? I congratulate the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman) on securing the debate. I will try to be as brief as possible because I know that other hon. Members are keen to contribute to this important debate. Enhancing our rail network is something that will benefit all of us in all parts of our country.

Even in these very difficult financial times, it is good that the Government have shown their commitment to our railways. The billions of pounds that they are investing are to be welcomed. I am particularly glad to see that there is a rebalancing of the amount of money being spent on transport projects across the country. Other hon. Members have spoken about national projects, but I shall be unashamedly parochial and talk about my region. Obviously, I have to speak up for the north of England, particularly Yorkshire and Leeds.

On the comment of my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard) about the northern hub, I congratulate him and others on renaming it. The term “Manchester hub” created a divide in the north and those of us on the right side of the border were naturally sceptical. Realistically, that project will create enormous benefits for our economy and I hope that it will get the support that it needs. The cost of the project is about £500 million, which is a fraction of the £16 billion spent on Crossrail.

I would first like to comment on the south access that the Government have funded at Leeds station. I cannot say how important that is for some of the poorest parts of the city. Over the years, the south side of the city of Leeds has not enjoyed the benefits of economic regeneration, and the money that the Government have kindly given in support of that project will open up opportunities for significant regeneration in that area. I welcome that.

I shall now turn to my pet project. I am in danger of causing what I call a crossing-the-road scenario with my right hon. Friend the Minister. In my previous life, I was the head of fundraising at a number of hospices. When I walked down the road, people would cross over to avoid me because I was usually asking for something—whether it was money for the charity or sponsorship. Whenever I see my right hon. Friend the Minister, she gives me that “Oh God, not him” look.

Kirkstall forge is a large brownfield site just outside my constituency. It offers real potential for creating lots of new jobs and employment opportunities, with massive private investment—we are looking at about £350 million. In addition, we hope that there will be the opportunity for two new stations: one that will serve that site and help to relieve the congestion caused by massive development, in my constituency in recent years and in other areas, on very busy roads; and one at Apperley Bridge. That is in the development stage at the moment and I hope that all the work that has been done by the local authority—Leeds city council and the private investors—will be recognised and that the Government will look favourably on providing the funding for this important project, which will help to relieve some of the most congested roads in Yorkshire.

I would also like to talk a little bit about rolling stock. In 2007, the White Paper suggested that Northern Rail would need approximately 182 carriages. It has not received a single one of them, so I was delighted to hear the announcement that carriages will be made available. I would just like to make a plea. In the north, we seem to suffer in that regard and getting third hand-me-downs would be better than nothing. We have had absolutely nothing in the past, so we would be happy with that.

Looking at future Parliaments, I am in danger of probably upsetting my hon. Friend the Member for South Northamptonshire (Andrea Leadsom), for whom I have an enormous amount of respect, because we are on opposite sides of the argument about HS2. My hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys made a valid point—we must take on board the concerns of hon. Members. I am glad that Ministers have taken the time to visit communities that are affected and will probably not see the benefits of HS2. For the north, however, it will be a significant boost. I was delighted when it was announced that it would be a Y route. That is hugely important to Yorkshire. If the other suggestion had been chosen, it probably would not have been worth it, so I am delighted that the Government made that decision.

My hon. Friend made a point about it just being about breaking down the barrier of the north-south divide, and I take that on board as it is a valid point, but the decision shows a tremendous amount of confidence in the north of England. Leeds, for example, has been a big financial centre in recent years and having such a link would help to improve that. As we have heard, it will release capacity on the east coast main line. As somebody who uses that line every week, I can say our long-suffering commuters will be glad to see that. It is also important to remember that it will release capacity at Heathrow. It is important that we try to maintain Heathrow as an international hub, and I hope that this will go some way to doing that.

My last plea and wish is for us to look—I recognise that it will take some time, given the financial situation—at links to Leeds-Bradford International airport. It is the only airport in the country where the only access is along single-track roads. It is an isolated airport, and there is an opportunity for us to look at providing a tram-train link from the Harrogate line up to the airport and then down on to the Guiseley line, which would then, for the first time, connect Bradford with Harrogate and offer options for passengers. It is worth noting that there is a collection of community groups in the area called WARD, which noted that when the volcanic ash problem happened, the roads servicing that airport were considerably quieter during that period. That demonstrated that the only way people can get to the airport is by car and we really need to look at a sustainable way of doing that.

I congratulate the Transport Committee on an excellent report. I just hope that the Minister will not cross the road next time I see her.