Chris Bloore
Main Page: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)Department Debates - View all Chris Bloore's debates with the Department for Transport
(2 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Simon Lightwood
The Bus Services Act empowers local leaders to choose the model that works best in their area. Our reforms are focused on giving local authorities the tools they need to deliver better bus services. The Act also has a measure on socially necessary local services. Under that new measure, local transport authorities with an enhanced partnership, such as that mentioned by the hon. Lady, will be required to identify the local services they consider to be socially necessary. They will need to put in place requirements that must be followed before such services can be changed or cancelled. What I would say about the English concessionary scheme is that it already costs £795 million a year. Any changes would need to be carefully considered to ensure its financial sustainability.
The Secretary of State for Transport (Heidi Alexander)
We are progressing the first phase of the midlands rail hub to increase capacity in Birmingham. This will improve reliability and enable additional trains between Birmingham, south Wales and the south-west, and on Birmingham’s cross-city line. It will also enable over 25 additional trains a day on the Redditch line. Network Rail has appointed an alliance of industry partners to design the infrastructure, and the alliance is currently consulting on upgrades between Birmingham Moor Street and Bordesley.
Chris Bloore
I thank the Secretary of State for her answer. Rail bottlenecks choke regional trade and hold back Redditch businesses. Delivering the midlands rail hub is fundamentally both pro-business and pro-worker. Will the Secretary of State update me on when she expects critical engineering upgrades to start to ensure that Redditch is fully connected to regional growth?
Heidi Alexander
Following the Government’s decision to move forward with the first phase of the midlands rail hub at the spending review last summer, detailed design work has commenced. We are now working hard to deliver benefits to passengers as soon as possible. This is a complex scheme in a dense urban environment. I cannot currently give a specific start date for the physical works, but I can tell my hon. Friend that new train services enabled by the scheme should come on line in the 2030s.