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1 July 2009 : Column 76WH—continued
The cross-country franchise is vital to the provision of services from Berwick and Alnmouth and Morpeth, and it helps to provide a link into the east coast main line services from those stations, where the mainline trains do not stop. It therefore increases the mainline service and provides valuable links right across country to the midlands, the south and west. Investment in and maintenance of that franchise are important.
TransPennine Express is used a great deal and provides a significantly improved service. I have used that service over many years, and it would be wrong not to acknowledge how much better it is now than in my early days as a Member of Parliament. However, people realise, having travelled in continental Europe, how much more could be achieved in terms of quality of service, timetable reliability and integration with other public transport services. We still seem to be struggling to get to the standards found in other countries, and it will take more investment to achieve that.
The mystery train that stops where no one can get on it is the one that goes twice daily to Belford, in my constituency, and turns around there. Nobody is allowed to get on it because the platform was taken away some years ago. We in the constituency are trying to get the platform rebuilt. A project is well under way and I think we are getting closer to its fruition. I mention that today because I want a new crop of Ministers to be aware that we really want to see this project through. It does not involve running extra trains or employing extra staff; it simply involves putting in place a platform, so that people can board a train that sits twice a day at Belford, thus enabling them to commute into Newcastle by train, and enabling visitors to use rail services in a popular tourist area.
Mr. John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD): That is a perfect example of an easy win, whereby a relatively small amount of investment in the railways could massively improve a service to local people.
Sir Alan Beith: Yes, and there are a number of good examples of that happening, but usually they are frustrated by tiresome issues such as the short platform problem that we have struggled with at Belford. We are told that there is a possibility that a train might arrive at the station with either the guard not warning passengers or too many doors being opened, perhaps allowing somebody to step out where there is no platform. Risk-aversion has been taken to an absurd length on some of these issues, making it more difficult to do simple things such as putting in a small platform to serve an area where the trains are relatively short in any event.
I encourage the Minister to remain interested in the Belford project and, of course, in other projects to develop rail services in Northumberland, such as reopening lines in the Bedlington and Ashington area, which could draw significant numbers of passengers into using rail, rather than private cars, for journeys to work into the Tyneside conurbation. There has been some progress on that front, and I want it to continue.
High-speed rail will be of crucial importance—either positive or negative—to the north-east of England. It will be positive if the north-east is involved, but projects discussed by both Government and Conservative Front
Benchers do not involve the north-east, at least until some imagined later stage. I mention a positive or negative impact on the north-east because if high-speed rail becomes a means simply of linking Yorkshire and London, the north-east will suffer significantly owing to an increase in the imbalance of development and investment—including general commercial investment—away from the north-east and into those areas served by high-speed rail. High-speed rail could be seriously damaging to us if it does not come to the north-east, which, of course, can be part of its route to Scotland. High-speed rail could further increase the links, communication and economic activity between the north-east and Scotland.
Throughout the development of the “Northern Way” initiative, it has been a worry in the north-east that this was a Hull-to-Liverpool axis approach, with the north-east being left out. High-speed rail matters to the north-east, and many factors—including the impact on transfer from air to rail, and making the region more attractive to investors who want to be in an area well linked to the south of England—make it central to our economic regeneration. I place on the record today that the north-east wants to be part of high-speed rail.
9.59 am
Graham Stringer (Manchester, Blackley) (Lab): Public expenditure will go over a cliff at some time in the next 12 months to two years, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Ms Smith) on bringing to the attention of the House the disparities in investment in rail between the north and the south of England. When the inevitable happens and public expenditure falls, expenditure in the north of England could go over Beachy Head while that in other parts of the country could go over a cliff the size of the kerb, or even go slightly uphill. The reasons are obvious. There are huge commitments for capital expenditure in London on Crossrail, Thameslink, and the links to the Olympic games. We must not forget the public-private partnership and the underground. Earlier this week, or perhaps last week, the National Audit Office pointed out that £400 million had been wasted on that project alone, which is more than is spent on heavy or light rail in any part of the north. It is an extraordinary amount.
We are disadvantaged because of the money that goes to the south. My hon. Friend gave the figures showing the investment going into London and the south-east compared with that in the north. I shall make two points on that. First, per capita expenditure in London over the past 12 months increased from £667 per head to £783 per head, and that difference is half the per capita expenditure in the north-east. That one-year increase is extraordinary.
Secondly, although I am numerate, it is difficult to keep up with the number of Secretaries of State for Transport and rail Ministers over the past 12 years or so. However, I have asked all of them to justify not the difference in investment between the north of England and the south-east and London—I understand that it is crowded down here, things cost more, there may be more cost benefit and added value from investment, and that the investment reflects the structure of the country—but the increasing difference in investment, which is getting worse. Not one has been able to do so. Will my hon. Friend the Minister rise to that challenge and explain why the difference is so great?
There are two justifications for public money. One is that it will help the country’s economy, and the other is that it will alleviate social deprivation. The money going into the London system is usually based on added value, although there is obviously poverty in the south. One might expect the same criteria to apply to money that is spent in the north-west, but the Northwest regional development agency, which has some eccentric policies, does not follow either of those policies. It neglects rail transport to a large extent, unlike Yorkshire First and some of the other RDAs, but its spending per head of the population in Manchester, where there would be the greatest added value, is half what Merseyside receives, which is probably where there would be the next greatest added value, and a third of what goes to Cumbria. Expenditure is not based on poverty or added value.
Mr. Martlew: Will my hon. Friend give way?
Graham Stringer: I have mentioned Cumbria, so I am delighted to give way to my hon. Friend.
Mr. Martlew: I understand what my hon. Friend says, but does he accept that Cumbria comprises 45 per cent. of the land mass of the north-west?
Graham Stringer: I do accept that. It is a fact. I am talking about expenditure per head of population, which is a reasonable basis for comparison.
My hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough set out the state of the rail system in the north of England. Yesterday, a passenger survey highlighted the poor state of the train service there and showed that over the past six or nine months passengers have become less satisfied as trains have become more crowded, people have found it more difficult to get on them and the state of platforms has deteriorated, and because of the lack of staff on platforms. I have said—it is worth repeating—that the speed of many trains in the north of England system would have embarrassed Gladstone. They are slower than in the 1880s, which is extraordinary.
I want the Government to assure us that when public expenditure cuts come there is positive recognition that the position cannot get much worse; we could get a fraction of the investment that we receive now. I also want them to respond to the disparities. The needs are obvious, and we need investment in the system. My hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough mentioned the Manchester hub. I do not mind whether it is called the northern hub or anything else, because we are talking about taking out the pinch points on the routes between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds, between Manchester and Sheffield, between Bradford and Preston, and on routes that run parallel with the country’s major north-south routes. Removing those pinch points, whether Salford or Slade lane junction in Manchester, would benefit the whole of the northern system.
MPs, not just in Manchester or the north-west, but from the whole of the north of England, must say that we want that increased capacity in the system, because we would all benefit economically, socially and environmentally. I am not sure whether this is a party political point, but in the run-up to general elections, parties tend to say “yes” more easily than Governments say “no” after elections. It would be a valuable exercise
for all of us to try to get into our party manifestos a commitment to investment in the northern rail system, and to rectify some of the imbalance in investment between north and south.
High-speed trains have been mentioned. I do not see a conflict between increasing capacity in the northern rail system—the Manchester hub idea—and the high-speed train. The high-speed train is a long-term project, which should benefit the whole country up to Glasgow and Edinburgh, including Newcastle, Manchester and Leeds, in whichever of a number of ways it is done. However, we should not lose our focus on the need for immediate investment in the northern rail system as well as major national infrastructure improvements in the High Speed 2 project. It would be easy for the Government to say that they will not do the former because they are looking at High Speed 2, which is a good thing. I welcome the vision of the new team at the Department for Transport and their support for the high-speed link, but it must not be used to divert attention from the immediate needs in the system.
My final point is about the figures, which are difficult to get, and this is a dramatic way of looking at them. In London over the next 10 years, around £80 billion of capital will be invested in transport, and the mayoral candidates last year claimed that they would invest £40 billion during their period of office, and the figure is about that. The figures are extraordinary, and I gave the per capita figures. The figures—they are very loose and difficult to get to—are 30 to 40 times greater than the investment that is going into the north-west of England. That simply cannot be justified on any basis that I can understand. I hope that all political parties take note: if we want this country to be as wealthy as it should be and the environment to be as good as it can be, we need to use the strength of our regional cities, which means supporting the transport infrastructure that goes to them, so that they can play their part in the economic growth of the country.
10.10 am
Mrs. Ann Cryer (Keighley) (Lab): This may not be relevant, but I declare an interest, in that I hold five £10 shares in the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Company, which, I hasten to add, does not pay a dividend. I am also the president of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Preservation Society, which is the major shareholder in the company. The society is run on highly democratic lines—we do not have a Sir Topham Hatt, the fat controller. I am here simply to support my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Ms Smith) and I congratulate her on securing this timely debate. I shall be brief, as many hon. Members with an abiding interest in the subject are anxious to speak.
I look forward to hearing this afternoon’s statement about the future of the east coast main line’s major operating company. Many of us have had anxieties about that subject for some time, given the importance of the company to the future economic well-being not only of the Worth Valley railway—it transports our visitors and volunteers—but of the north of England generally, including my constituency.
I agree with the well-informed criticisms made by my hon. Friend and others; there is little point in repeating them. However, on a positive note, I should like to
mention a few things that have happened since I was elected. When I was first elected in 1997, both the Aire and Wharfe Valley lines, which run through my constituency to Ilkley, had cascaded-down rolling stock that was antique, to say the least. The carriages had slam doors. Of course, the train could not move off until the doors had been closed, and someone as short as me took their life in their hands by leaning out of the compartment to get hold of the door to close it. I am very pleased that we have got away from that and we now have the excellent units that ply between Leeds and Skipton, through Keighley, and to Ilkley. That makes the lives of my constituents, and particularly those who commute to Leeds and Bradford each day, much better. The main problem with the units is that they do not have elastic sides. Therefore, at peak hours there is major overcrowding. As I frequently get on at Saltaire and the overcrowding is at a peak at that point, I often have to stand to Leeds.
The upgrading of Leeds City station took place a number of years ago. We now have 16 platforms there. It is a completely different station from the one that we inherited in 1997. I am pleased with the way in which it has progressed. Leeds is now a real railway hub and most of us in the north-east are proud of it.
I am very grateful for the improvements, but as an old-fashioned socialist, I still believe that privatisation of the rail network and operating companies was a mistake. Network Rail is a welcome improvement, but as today’s news shows, the operating companies and the method of awarding contracts are unsatisfactory, to say the least. I hope that later today we shall have some good news that will resolve some of those problems.
10.14 am
Dr. Brian Iddon (Bolton, South-East) (Lab): I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Ms Smith) on gaining this important debate. I am able to participate only because my Select Committee sitting this morning was cancelled, so I am here at short notice.
The Bolton-Manchester rail corridor is one of the busiest in the country. I think that my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) will agree with that. Trains come through Trinity Street station in Bolton from all over the country—trans-Pennine trains as well as local commuter trains. There is a real problem on that line because there are only two tracks in and out of Manchester, so there is congestion, for a start, between the express trains, which obviously want to travel extremely fast through the Manchester terminals, and the local commuter trains. As a result, the small stations of Farnworth, Moses Gate and particularly Kearsley have lost rail services to make space for the express trains. That is one disadvantage of increased rail use.
Just before Christmas, the timetabling was altered completely, to the great disadvantage of my constituents. The reason for that was a much-improved west coast main line service between Manchester Piccadilly and London. To make way for increased capacity on Virgin trains, many of my constituents’ timetables were altered so that getting to work on time was a great problem. Many of the trains were diverted from Piccadilly station,
where most of my constituents want to go, particularly the students going to Manchester Metropolitan university, Salford university and, of course, the great university of Manchester—it has an enormous number of students and is one of the largest campuses in Europe. Instead of going to Piccadilly, many trains have been diverted because of the increased capacity of Virgin trains at Piccadilly; they have been rerouted to Victoria station in Manchester. That means that people have to cross town, which adds time to their journey, and many of my constituents are arriving late.
There is a greater difficulty, in that many of my constituents get on at two of the small stations that I have mentioned—Farnworth and Moses Gate—and many of the commuter trains going through Manchester in the morning and coming back in the evening have only two carriages. Ironically, at least one of those carriages will have first-class capacity, which no one uses. People are crammed in like sardines in one and a half carriages and there is a completely empty first-class compartment. That is nonsensical. The trains fill up at Bolton Trinity Street. I use the trains myself. I never bother taking a car into Manchester. I always use the train, and every time I use those trains I am crammed in, squashed against a door. I am hardly able to get out at Manchester sometimes when the trains are going through, perhaps to the airport. It is very uncomfortable.
Colin Challen (Morley and Rothwell) (Lab): People have a similar experience in my constituency in Leeds, which has two stations that are the last on the line before Leeds City station. The best way of tackling that problem is to increase capacity—increasing the number of carriages. Surely that is the cheapest way of getting people out of their cars, making the modal shift and reducing the number of those short commuting journeys by road.
Dr. Iddon: My hon. Friend is right: that is the crux of the debate. I have been the Member of Parliament for Bolton, South-East for 12 years and I have been writing to successive Ministers and Secretaries of State, pointing out the chaos that existed in 1997 when I was elected. With increased rail use, one can imagine that the situation has now become extremely demanding for my constituents, and they have been writing to me in increasing numbers complaining about not being able to get to work on time or even not being able to get to work at all. The trains fill up at Bolton Trinity Street and by the time they get to Farnworth and Moses Gate, people are left standing on the platform. They cannot physically get on the train. It is bad enough for an able-bodied person such as myself and many of my constituents, but let us imagine a disabled person or an older person trying to board trains that are no better than cattle trucks.
Graham Stringer: I agree with my hon. Friend’s points. Does he agree that it will be a shocking disgrace if the train units on the Oldham line which are removed when it is converted for tram use do not stay within the north-west area, and preferably on the Bolton line? The Department for Transport has not made it clear whether those trains will be left in the north-west system, as was originally envisaged.
Dr. Iddon: Indeed. I was coming to that very point, and perhaps I will pick up on it before I conclude. I entirely agree with my hon. Friend.
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