Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wendy Morton and Peter Aldous

Thursday 30th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

T5. Leading on from my hon. Friend the Member for Clacton (Giles Watling), is my hon. Friend aware of the growing alarm across East Anglia about whether the Government’s long-term commitment to invest in Ely and Haughley junctions will be fulfilled? That improvement to the rail network will have significant levelling-up benefits across East Anglia and beyond, improve services for both freight and passengers, and help achieve our legally binding decarbonisation targets. Will she confirm that the rail network enhancements pipeline will prioritise this much needed investment?

[Wendy Morton]

My hon. Friend has previously raised the issue of Haughley and Ely junctions with me. We remain committed to publishing the RNEP update, which has been delayed by the need to take account of the impacts of the pandemic and the spending review. However, I want to be in a position where we can provide as much clarity and certainty as possible. We will set out our plans shortly.

East Suffolk and Wherry Railway Lines

Debate between Wendy Morton and Peter Aldous

Thursday 19th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Wendy Morton)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) and congratulate him on securing this debate on the East Suffolk and Wherry railway lines. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Mr Bacon) for his contribution. My hon. Friend the Member for Waveney made a number of points. I will endeavour to cover as many of them as I can in the time I have. However, he should rest assured that I was listening carefully to his contribution.

Recently, my hon. Friend unveiled a mural at Lowestoft railway station installed by the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership and the Lowestoft Central Project to commemorate 175 years since the arrival of the railway in Lowestoft with the Norwich-Lowestoft-Wherry lines railway. The arrival of the railway brought enormous growth and prosperity to the town, as we heard, attracting major industry, facilitating trading links through the port and creating a seaside resort. The railway still plays a crucial role for the local community and economy, providing connectivity for residents and visitors.

I understand the importance of the routes to Lowestoft and the connectivity that they provide across the wider area, which is vital to facilitating the region’s development and further economic growth. With the growth of various industries in Lowestoft, including green energy and tourism, I appreciate the importance of convenient transport to the Government’s levelling-up agenda.

During the debate, I have heard the request for direct services from Lowestoft to Liverpool Street. I recognise the importance and helpfulness of direct rail services into London, but I will explain that a number of other factors are under consideration to facilitate that on the route between London Liverpool Street and Lowestoft The introduction of new direct services requires that there is sufficient capacity on the route to allow the service to operate in a manner that will not adversely impact the performance and operation of other services along the route. I understand that Greater Anglia has considered the introduction of a direct service to Lowestoft, but has regrettably concluded in the past that it was not feasible to implement that at the time due to operational, infrastructure and timetable factors.

Members will know that the Great Eastern main line is very congested, with a lack of space for extra services. Additionally, the East Suffolk line is constrained by single-line sections and, as we heard, many level crossings. The introduction of new services needs to be done in a way that does not adversely affect performance and create delays. That said, I have asked officials at the Department to request that Greater Anglia continues to look for opportunities to introduce a direct service in the future.

On a more positive note, I am pleased that Greater Anglia is part way through its full fleet replacement programme, with all its new Stadler trains in services on the rural routes from Norwich and Ipswich, and to Lowestoft. Those new trains have delivered significant improvement for customers. They are more comfortable, provide more seats and have much improved accessibility, with low floors and retractable steps. The Lowestoft regional trains connect into the new Stadler inter-city trains. Additionally, Greater Anglia is part way through its roll-out of new Alstom trains, with 63 out of the 133 five-carriage trains now in service across the region, again providing customers with a much improved journey experience, with many more seats, air conditioning, wi-fi and power points.

On another positive note, operational performance on the East Suffolk and Wherry lines has been very strong, with public performance measure levels of 95% for the Ipswich-Lowestoft services and 97% for the Norwich-Lowestoft services in the most recent rail period. In fact, the Anglia route had among the best on-time performance across the country in the last financial year.

Looking back at improvements on the route, I recognise the importance of the completion of the Beccles loop 10 years ago, which allowed the hourly service to commence from Ipswich to Lowestoft. That important investment, part-funded by Suffolk County Council, made a significant improvement to the timetable and provided a real alternative to road journeys.

Building on that, in 2020, more than 130 years of signalling history on the Wherry line entered a new era when—

[Peter Aldous]

indicated assent.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wendy Morton and Peter Aldous

Thursday 3rd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

T2. Last week-end’s storms have led to the temporary closure of the railway from Norwich to Lowestoft. Good services on that Wherry line and the east Suffolk line are vital if meaningful levelling up is to be delivered to the Waveney area. Can Ministers confirm that the Government are committed to improvements on these two lines and that their ambitions extend beyond that suggested by Network Rail, which is that it aims to have a climate-resilient service on the Wherry lines in 28 years’ time?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Wendy Morton)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this matter today, and I appreciate the incident on Sunday near Haddiscoe will undoubtedly have caused disruption to passengers, but I understand that work is going well and I am sure he will be pleased to know that services are expected to resume on Saturday morning. Network Rail recently outlined its long-term adaptation ambitions, which are now being considered at local level. Importantly, this will help build greater understanding of the key areas of vulnerability that are critical in the development of plans to mitigate and minimise impacts on passengers.