Seaborne Freight
Debate between Thelma Walker and Lord Grayling(5 years, 9 months ago)
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Chris Grayling
Both of the points made by my hon. Friend are absolutely correct. My view is that the common transit convention solves many of the problems. We cannot be 100% certain, because we have not had confirmation from the French yet about how they would manage border posts in Calais, notwithstanding the common travel convention, but he is absolutely right that it should enable trade to flow through smoothly. I have been clear in saying regularly that I expect those ports and the tunnel to operate pretty much normally, but we have contingency in place just in case that is necessary.
Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)
A fake lorry traffic jam in Kent, rail timetable chaos, which is still affecting commuters and local businesses in my constituency, and now a cancelled contract with a ferry company that owns no ferries—is the Secretary of State proud of his record?
Chris Grayling
There was no fake traffic jam; it was an exercise to test the movements of vehicles into and out of Manston in Kent. The timetable troubles were caused by a project where Government were investing in rail infrastructure in the north-west—something that never happened under Labour—which ran late. As I said a moment ago, this shipping company identified and got firm options on two ships but was unfortunately not able to carry on because its backers pulled out.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Thelma Walker and Lord Grayling(6 years, 4 months ago)
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Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)
Delays, non-accessible platforms, cancelled trains, failed investment—would the Secretary of State like me to add broken promises of electrification to the list of issues with the trans-Pennine route for my constituents?
Chris Grayling
We have already modernised the line from Liverpool to Manchester and we are about to start a £3 billion modernisation of the railway line from Manchester to Leeds to York, so I make no apology to the people of the north for the fact that we are spending £3 billion on upgrading their railway line when the Labour party, when it was in office, did absolutely nothing.
Rail Timetabling
Debate between Thelma Walker and Lord Grayling(6 years, 5 months ago)
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Chris Grayling
Bringing track and train back together is part of the solution for the railways. I am absolutely sure that the railways are going to have to change quite a lot as a result of what has gone on, which has been completely unacceptable. Their ways of working have got to change. We are going to need a reshaped approach for the future.
Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)
Disabled passengers in my constituency have been told that they will not be able to catch certain trains as TransPennine has rolled out old stock to try to fix the broken timetables and reduce delays. Does the Transport Secretary agree that this is discrimination and unacceptable? Will he intervene to tell TransPennine that it must make sure that each train is compliant with disability legislation?
Chris Grayling
It is the duty of all train companies to ensure that that happens. The rolling programme of train replacement means that all trains will be disability-compliant. Every train in the north is being replaced with either a brand new train or a refurbished, as-new train. I will continue to make the point to all train operators—as will the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani), who is responsible for accessibility—that they have to make a priority of this.