§ 2. Dr. Stephen Ladyman (South Thanet)What representations he has received on Railtrack investment in the upgrading of the lines from Ramsgate and Dover to Ashford. [68264]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Ms Glenda Jackson)Ministers have received no representations about Railtrack investment on the upgrading of the lines from Ramsgate and Dover to Ashford, although I understand that the franchising director has recently written to my hon. Friend about the quality of service on those lines.
§ Dr. LadymanI am grateful to my hon. Friend for her answer. I wonder whether she has any masochistic tendencies: would she like to try making a train journey from London to either Ramsgate or Dover? She would find herself in an antediluvian carriage, knee-deep in filth, and would probably conclude that the journey would be quicker on the back of a lame tortoise.
Will my hon. Friend accept that upgrading the railway line from Ramsgate and Dover to Ashford, to join the channel tunnel rail link, is essential for the economic regeneration of east Kent? Will she give Railtrack and Connex a kick in the pants and make them start to produce plans? If the scheme is not commercially viable, will she see what she can do to help to make it happen?
§ Ms JacksonOpen-minded though I am, masochism has never had any appeal for me, but the picture that my hon. Friend paints is a clear indication of the failure of the previous Administration to ensure that sufficient investment was made in our national railway system. However, any upgrading of the lines would be a matter for Railtrack. Its 1998 network management statement contained so few firm commitments that it caused the regulator to seek improvements to track quality, capacity constraints and dialogue with industry, which were agreed with Railtrack in July 1998.
A new network management strategy will be published in March and, set against profits of £224 million for the six months ending on 30 September 1998, we look to 104 Railtrack to build on the commitments given to the regulator in July. As the House will know, there will be a national railways summit on 25 February and I will most certainly lay my hon. Friend's concerns at the feet of Connex.
§ Mr. Damian Green (Ashford)I am sure that commuters from my constituency will be slightly disappointed that the Minister prefers strategies and meetings to action on that point. May I put to her a practical point, which she may like to take? In the long run, the commuting services from east Kent into London would be improved by competition. Will she give an indication that she will allow domestic services to run on the channel tunnel rail link, when it is introduced? That would provide extra capacity and competition, which would improve services for commuters. Will she make that positive commitment now?
§ Ms JacksonThe hon. Gentleman clearly paid no attention whatever to what the previous Administration did—regardless of the fact that he is a member of their party—in respect of the strictures that they set in place on rail privatisation.
On the issue of action, at a meeting on 26 November it was agreed, with all franchisees and Railtrack, to improve performance on our railways, at the behest of my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister. Those measures include 800 new train drivers, 500 new vehicles, a joint hit squad to identify and tackle the worst 50 black spots, a national troubleshooter team to tackle punctuality problems and a new national passenger survey to find out what passengers think about their rail services.
I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is aware, and would endorse the fact, that allowing domestic passengers on to Eurostar train services without the requisite safeguards to ensure that there can be no infringement of safety, and introducing any service into our islands without the necessary restraints that we have on our borders, would not be the way to encourage people to use our railway system.
§ 3. Mr. Jonathan Shaw (Chatham and Aylesford)If he will make a statement on the improvements proposed by Connex South Eastern to its train service to Kent. [68265]
§ The Minister of Transport (Dr. John Reid)Connex is taking part in discussions with other industry parties to identify potential solutions to the capacity problems experienced on a number of their routes. I sincerely hope that any solutions to these capacity problems will also help to improve reliability and punctuality.
§ Mr. ShawI thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. As my hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman) said, much of the rolling stock is filthy and dilapidated, and it is not uncommon for basics, such as water in the toilet, to be lacking. When he has his summit, will he take on board the fact that there are only two direct trains to the Medway towns? They provide a service for the 250,000 people who live there, so 25,000 commuters every day are served by only two direct trains. Could capacity be increased by at least one train to improve the rail services to the people in the Medway towns?
§ Dr. ReidI shall take account of my hon. Friend's comments. The tragedy is that, almost every day, we hear 105 of another horror story about one of our railway services. Only this morning, a colleague of mine stood on a platform at Elmstead Wood and three Connex trains in 25 minutes were cancelled.
The bigger problem is that the advances that have been made, such as increases in investment, the fall in average fares and the increase in passenger numbers, will not cut any ice with the public until we improve reliability and punctuality. That is precisely why the Deputy Prime Minister called in the train companies at the end of November, and why we have an immediate action plan to tackle these problems in the short term. We shall talk to the train companies again at the rail summit on 25 February, and shall put to them the simple message that performance on our railways must improve, and that, if it does not improve, the companies that are failing the public will have no long-term future in the industry.
§ Mr. Roger Gale (North Thanet)The rail service between London Victoria and Herne Bay and Margate has been frightful throughout the winter. I welcome the assurances that have been given and the work that the right hon. Gentleman is doing to improve matters. I also welcome the fact that Connex has introduced some new trains, and more are to be delivered in the spring.
The real answer to east Kent's rail problems—touched on by the hon. Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman)—is to upgrade the line between east Kent via Canterbury and Ashford into London using the fast link. Some weeks ago, I attended a meeting with the leader of Kent county council and Railtrack, which has shown a willingness to study the building of a new Thanet Parkway station and a fast line. To do that will require money and European assistance with transport infrastructure. Will the Minister support us in seeking to retain the relevant status for east Kent?
§ Dr. ReidAs the hon. Gentleman said, in his area, as in many others, there is a desperate need for investment in the railways infrastructure. Hon. Members on both sides will have noticed the recent comments of the acting Rail Regulator about the need to divert more of the surplus profits made by Railtrack into investment in our railways, rather than distributing them.
As the hon. Gentleman knows, we no longer directly control the railways, because the previous Government privatised them. It is our view that, although unfettered competition gave us some benefits, it has had a terrible downside for passengers. We are trying to provide a strategic role for the railways by establishing a Strategic Rail Authority to give long-term direction. We want a network-wide framework within which we can produce a decent railway system and, above all, we want to put the passengers—the consumers, the people who use the railways—at the forefront of all our considerations, rather than any other organisation or group of people.
§ Mr. Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne and Sheppey)Like a number of colleagues who have spoken, I travel to London every day, unfortunately on the dreaded Victoria to Sittingbourne line. I caught it last night at five past 11, and I got home at a quarter past one. It is usually an hour's journey.
My hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet (Dr. Ladyman) referred to the east Kent initiative. We want the problems of north Kent to be considered. Sheerness is the fifth largest port, but we cannot connect 106 to Ashford without going up to Victoria. What we need in north Kent and east Kent is a brand new green line that will take freight to Europe so that the east Kent section can be regenerated. Will my right hon. Friend will consider this matter on his away day with the operators?
§ Dr. ReidIt will be not so much an away day as an "at home" for my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on 25 February. Of course my hon. Friend's constituency may well be mentioned. However, the comments that are made daily by hon. Members on both sides of the House should send a message to the train operators and to Railtrack that Parliament, on behalf of the people whom we represent, finds the present performance of the railway system intolerable. There must be year-on-year improvements if the railway companies are to carry the public with them.