MP Twigg quizzes Transport Secretary over railway plans

HALTON’S MP has quizzed the Transport Secretary on what changes will be made under new plans to reform rail infrastructure.

Derek Twigg spoke to Chris Grayling during a debate in the House Of Commons on Tuesday, December 6.

Mr Grayling had earlier outlined planned improvements to Parliament which include new franchises such as Southeastern and East Midlands having ‘integrated operating teams’ between train services and infrastructure in a bid to work together in the ‘interests of the passenger’.

Other proposals include developing a model of ‘greater alignment of track and train’ as more rail franchises are renewed, Mr Grayling said, and bringing ‘new skills’ as railways are upgraded.

He said: “These reforms will set the railway on a firmer footing for the future.

“We can, and will, make sure our rail network plays its part in making this country a country that works for everyone.

“I will bring forward in due course a new strategy for our railways with more detail on what I am setting out today.”

Mr Twigg told Mr Grayling that some of the main causes of delays and problems on the rail network include failures of signals, points and trains.

The Halton MP asked the Transport Secretary to explain ‘in specifics’ what will be different under his new proposals from what currently happens.

Mr Grayling replied with his own recent personal experience that there had been a ‘quite bad’ signal failure at lunchtime on the South West Trains network and that by the time he caught a train home in the evening, the service was ‘pretty much back to normal’.

He said: “It is a joined-up route that has the nearest thing to an alliance on the network, and the two sides work hard together to deliver improvements quickly when something goes wrong.”