Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Grant Excerpts

Thursday 26th October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Huw Merriman)]

I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend. Chalkwell, Ockendon and Southend East remain within the Access for All programme. We have delivered 230 stations and we will deliver those three as well. We had an issue with the contractor putting in a cost estimate that was about double what I would expect; that is why we have had to look anew, but I will very happily meet my hon. Friend to discuss this further, and she has that commitment. We will deliver it.

[Peter Grant (Glenrothes) (SNP)]

T9. Can the Minister confirm that although HS2—or maybe HS1- and-a-quarter—is going no further than Birmingham, the HS2 trains will continue to run on the west coast main line? Is he aware of repeated reports that because the new trains are not designed for existing track, the high- speed trains to Glasgow will go slower than the existing trains on that line? Can the Minister categorically assure the House that that is not the case, and tell us how much time will be cut from the train journey from Glasgow to Birmingham?

[Huw Merriman]

It comes down to choices. We could have chosen to continue with HS2, which would not have delivered the value we need, with time overrunning, or we could have done as the Scottish National party did when it built two ferries at a shipyard that had been nationalised, going four times over budget and running seven years late. Alternatively, we could have done as it did on the tram—described by the Edinburgh tram inquiry as a “litany of avoidable failures”. When there are choices to be made, the SNP ploughs on regardless.