Adrian Sanders
Main Page: Adrian Sanders (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)Department Debates - View all Adrian Sanders's debates with the Department for Transport
(12 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Hammond
I agree that it has a very strong business case and it will be part of the “Y” network, but the logic of building this project is that we have to do the complex engineering challenge of getting out of London through tunnels—the difficult bit of the project—first. In engineering terms, once we are out of the tunnels, it is pretty much plain sailing to complete the remainder of the construction.
Mr Adrian Sanders (Torbay) (LD)
Will the Minister please give thought to the people of the west country who have some of the slowest rail links with London and some of the most expensive fares? Rather than extra, speedy lines north, we would like some speedy and efficient lines south-west.
Mr Hammond
I am delighted to be able to tell my hon. Friend that electrification of the Great Western main line and the introduction of the IEP rolling stock will improve services in terms of speed, reliability, comfort and capacity on services between London and the west country.