§ 6. Mr. George Foulkes (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab/Co-op)What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport about transferring further responsibility for railways in Scotland to the Scottish Executive. [187631]
§ The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Alistair Darling)In July, I published my proposals in relation to railways in the White Paper "The Future of Rail". It sets out proposals for transferring further responsibility for rail in Scotland to the Scottish Executive.
§ Mr. FoulkesI am grateful to my right hon. Friend. I am sure that his advocacy skills help in all his discussions. However, now that more power has been transferred to the Scottish Executive, I hope that he will ask them not to be too convinced by the right hon. Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Darling) arguing for more money to be put into Waverley station, especially if that is at the expense of a more frequent and reliable rail service to Prestwick, which is Scotland's fastest-growing airport.
§ Mr. DarlingI found my discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport to be the most fruitful that I had during the entire consultation process; certainly, we were both absolutely agreed on the outcome.
In relation to Edinburgh Waverley, it is well known that that station needs substantial investment. Railtrack made a complete botch of it. The Scottish Executive, Network Rail, the Strategic Rail Authority and Edinburgh city council have had useful meetings about improving the station. Under the proposals that I made in July, in future it will be for the Scottish Executive to specify what they want in terms of track, stations and services. My right hon. Friend is right, however, that the rail link to Prestwick is equally important. Part of the reason for the success of the airport and development there is that that railway line provides a very good service for people travelling on it.