PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1495 Rail Franchising
26 MARCH 2013
Rail Franchising
1496
Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con): I welcome
the certainty today’s statement brings and the opening
of the east coast main line franchise. Can my right hon.
Friend confirm that passenger gain will be at the forefront
of the franchising process?
Mr McLoughlin: I assure my hon. Friend that we are
going to take passengers’ views very much into account
in this system. That has not happened before, and today
Passenger Focus has welcomed that development. It is
part of the judgement that we must make when considering
whether franchises are achieving their targets.
Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab): Is the
Secretary of State aware that tomorrow, to mark the
50th anniversary of Beeching, passenger groups and
trade unions will demonstrate outside 80 railway stations
against privatisation and job losses? Will he protect
passenger safety and rule out job losses on the railways?
Mr McLoughlin: I am not sure the hon. Lady was
listening to my statement. I pointed out that we have had
a better safety record on our railways in the past few
years than for a number of years, and we are one of the
safest rail operators in Europe. Jobs have been created
as a result of more people using the railways. Privatisation
has doubled the number of people using the railways. I
would have expected the hon. Lady to welcome that,
and unions to be out welcoming it too.
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con): In the light of the 27-month
extension that has been given to the Greater Anglia
franchise, what improvements to services will be appended
to the existing franchise as a condition, so that local
commuters see improvements to the service before the
next franchise comes up?
Mr McLoughlin: I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who,
along with colleagues from the Greater Anglia area,
have given me a pamphlet setting out the changes being
made. The Minister of State, Department for Transport,
my right hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford
(Mr Burns), does not lose an opportunity to tell us how
we must improve the services used by not only my hon.
Friend’s constituents, but his.
Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East
Cleveland) (Lab): The Secretary of State’s response to
my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Hugh
Bayley) was disturbing. He said that he was not bothered
who would run the franchise or where they came from,
and could not confirm where such a company would be
headquartered. Can he not use the tendering process to
ensure that these details are nailed down and that the
headquarters are in the United Kingdom?
Mr McLoughlin: I fear that the hon. Gentleman is
taking me out of context. What I said was that my main
concern is the service to the passenger, which I care very
much about and want to see improve. The location of
the headquarters will be up to the individual franchisees
when they put their case forward, and they may make
strong representations.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con): The Secretary
of State and I, and our constituents, use the midland
main line. Will he confirm when the franchise is up for
renewal, and will he allow prospective bidders to come
forward with proposals for new electric trains, instead
of the Department insisting that they use recycled trains
from other lines?
Mr McLoughlin: The date of the new contract for
East Midlands will be mid-way through 2017, and a
direct-operated tender deal will come to fruition in
2015. I hope my hon. Friend accepts that the fact that
electrification of that line is included in next set of
Network Rail works shows our commitment to it. I
know how important—
Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood) (Lab): In the
next Parliament.
Mr McLoughlin: The hon. Lady says that, but the
process starts in 2014, which is in this Parliament. I can
assure her that 2014 will be in this Parliament, not the
next Parliament, in which case we will be electrifying
that line.
Mr Speaker: Before she attends to her next pressing
commitment, let us hear from Catherine McKinnell.
Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North)
(Lab): Thank you, Mr Speaker. I agree with the Secretary
of State that if our country is to compete on jobs and
growth, we need a transport infrastructure that is second
to none. Can he therefore reassure me that today’s
announcement is in no way driven by the view expressed
by the chief executive of the North Eastern local enterprise
partnership that there is no need to invest in north-east
transport, and that he does not share that view?
Mr McLoughlin: There is every need to invest in
transport across the United Kingdom, and LEPs have a
very important role to play. I have not seen the exact
quote, and I should like to see it in context.
Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con): I
congratulate my right hon. Friend on today’s statement,
particularly the great news about Ilkeston station, which
will immediately transform and regenerate the area by
providing connectivity. Is this the new dawn for the
National Forest line—the old Ivanhoe line; can we look
forward to that, too?
Mr McLoughlin: I am sure I will hear a lot more about
the Ivanhoe line from my hon. Friend. I am pleased that
she welcomes the opening of the station at Ilkeston,
along with the other two stations I have announced
today. There will be further work on that, but she is
right: the fact that I, as Transport Secretary, have appeared
at the Dispatch Box today is a reflection of Members
wanting more services. That is why it is so important
that we get the investment levels right and the train
companies operating the kind of services passengers
want.
Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab):
Can the Secretary of State confirm that the open access
slot on the east coast main line will still be available to
services such as Hull Trains and will not be rolled up in
any franchise tender document?
Mr McLoughlin: Yes.