MP lobbies for extra funding for Salisbury-Exeter line
DEVON MP Neil Parish has called for the Government and South Western Railway to provide more funding for the South West, in order to avoid the region becoming the “poor relation” of the country.
Speaking exclusively to RAIL, Parish said the region’s railways have been underinvested for a long time.
“When you talk to the Secretary of State for Transport he talks about a lot on the roads, on the A303 and all these things. The railway lines have had some money, but we need more basically,” the Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton told RAIL.
“It’s where you need to upgrade stations, you need to upgrade points systems, and you need to get things flowing.”
According to the Salisbury to Exeter Rail Users’ Group, in the past decade there has been a 58% increase in passenger usage on the line between the two cities. However, much of the line is single-track west of Salisbury, which restricts the number of services that can run on the route.
Parish has long campaigned for improvements on the line, and said he is “getting somewhere” with the prospect of adding an extra passing loop at Axminster, although he ruled out redoubling the entire line.
“It’s a really useful line. The idea that we can get twin-track all the way is a little ambitious, but there’s a lot more we can do,” he told RAIL.
“I’d like it to become not exactly an alternative strategic route, but as a back-up to the main line through Tiverton.”
Parish added: “Talking to South
Western Railway, they say they are investing, but I think they need to invest more. We need more up-to-date carriages and we need enough carriages as well.
“From running a franchise point of view, it must be a lot more cost-effective to them if they have a 58% rise in passenger numbers. What is abundantly clear is over the last 20 years passenger numbers have doubled, and so the need for a greater amount of money to be spent on railways.
“We have the Northern Powerhouse, but you mustn’t forget the South West is a powerhouse and we want some more investment. It’s a line that I think has a great future, it just needs more investment. I will go back to Chris Grayling [Transport Secretary] and try and get some more money out of him.”
Parish also revealed a desire to reconnect the seaside town of Seaton to the national network - via a branch line from Seaton Junction, which lies on the main line from Salisbury to Exeter.
Closed in 1966, due to the growing popularity of road transport, some of the line remains as part of the Seaton Tramway system, which runs from the town to Colyton three miles away.
Said Parish: “There’s a station at Seaton [on the tramway]. I’d quite like to do something to that one day and see if we can get the trains out to it. I know people say ‘that’s pie in the sky’ - but unless you have an idea, unless you put something forward, nothing will happen.”