Albert Owen
Main Page: Albert Owen (Labour - Ynys Môn)Department Debates - View all Albert Owen's debates with the Wales Office
(9 years, 5 months ago)
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Alun Cairns
I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for the role she played at the Wales Office, which contributed to early negotiations on the electrification of the railways. Of course, HS2 is a UK strategic project and therefore will not be Barnettised.
Albert Owen (Ynys Môn) (Lab)
What is missing from this failed economic plan is any rail strategy that deals with freight. The main corridor from the Republic of Ireland to Wales and England comes through north Wales. Will the Minister press the Treasury to ensure that we alleviate the problems on our roads, not by building motorways in marginals, but by building freight lines across England and Wales?
Alun Cairns
The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. Early in the new year, we plan a transport summit in north-east Wales to highlight businesses’ needs, and to ensure that business has the opportunity to make its case for electrification, so that the electrification taskforce of my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones), and the recommendations made to the Secretary of State, can be taken into account. Freight is of course an important part of that.