Rail Performance

Debate between Tim Farron and Louise Haigh

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

It was extraordinarily frustrating to see the news of the obscene amounts of money spent on that structure to do with HS2. That happened under HS2’s previous leadership. We are resolving this by bringing in Mark Wild imminently to lead the organisation, and we are also resolving issues around cost control and governance through James Stewart’s governance review of HS2. These things happened under the previous Government, and fortunately the electorate resolved that issue for us on 4 July.

[Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)]

After a weekend of cancellations at Windermere, Oxenholme and elsewhere, will the Secretary of State have a word with Northern Rail, to remind it that it is meant to run a rail service on a Sunday? Will she also speak to Avanti —many hon. Members may agree with me on this and have the same experience—because services from London Euston to Glasgow Central are habitually stopped at Preston, even when the track is clear all the way to the Scottish border and beyond? It harms my constituents at Oxenholme, and those in Penrith, Lancaster and Carlisle.

[Louise Haigh]

I have routine conversations with Northern Rail, as the hon. Gentleman would imagine. The most recent was on Thursday. We facilitated a new rest day working agreement with it, which has significantly reduced driver cancellations, but there is an outstanding issue with conductors; there is a very similar situation with Great Western. In parts of Northern Rail, particularly in the north-west, Sundays are not included in the working week. That has led to an unacceptable amount of cancellations, which we are working to resolve. I will raise the issue of stopping at Preston with Avanti separately.