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News Release 23rd October 2007TRAIN OVERCROWDING ON THE WEST COAST LINEIn Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport today (23rd October) in the House of Commons, Michael Fabricant raised the problem of train overcrowding on the West Coast Main Line and told Ruth Kelly of Virgin Train's plans to add a further two carriages to each train to relieve congestion. Michael Fabricant said: "The right hon. Lady will know that congestion on the west coast main line is partly due to the fact that the trains currently only have nine carriages. That is an increase of one on the original plan, which was for eight carriages. Negotiations are currently under way with the Department of Transport about providing a further two carriages to make 11 in all. However, Virgin Trains asks what profit is in that for the company if its franchise is to last only a short time. Will the Secretary of State look at the matter afresh and realise that if Virgin Trains is to provide two extra carriages per train at its own expense, it will need a longer franchise period to make the operation viable?" Ruth Kelly (the Secretary of State) replied: "The hon. Gentleman will understand that such negotiations are never easy and that train-operating companies often come to the Department with requests for extensions to their franchises. He should consider the specific request that he mentioned in that spirit. My hon. Friend the Minister responsible for rail assures me that he is optimistic that a deal about the extra carriages will be done. The west coast main line will benefit from greater train frequencies and more rolling stock as we deliver the single biggest increase in investment since the war." |
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