- 4:30 pm
- I beg to move,That this House has considered the future of rail services in Devon.I am delighted to have secured my first Westminster Hall debate, and it is an honour to speak under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I welcome the Minister to his place.I will start by setting out why rail services in Devon are of the utmost importance to my constituency of Exeter and the wider regional economy. Exeter is one of the fastest-growing cities in the UK. Indeed, in the 10 years from 2012 to 2022, it was the fourth fastest. It experienced an 11% growth in population, from about 117,800 in 2011 to 130,800 in 2021. That is higher than the overall increase for England, at 6.6%.We have an estimated population of 130,800, and a travel-to-work area that includes more than 499,800 residents. About 35,000 people commute into Exeter daily for work and leisure. That wider hinterland is an integral part of the success of our economy. Exeter generates almost £6 billion in gross value added, meaning that we are the biggest economy west of Bristol and are in the top 10 cities for gross value added growth in the UK. Exeter has generated 8% in new businesses, with 5,147 registered for business rates, and a 3% growth in jobs. It was also ranked sixth in the PwC “Good Growth for Cities 2024” index.At the heart of our dynamic economy lies the University of Exeter, which is world-leading in life sciences, material sciences, climate sciences, marine sciences and engineering. Exeter college is the best in the country and attracts students from across the region due to its excellent mix of academic and apprenticeship courses. The Met Office is world-renowned for its climate science and space weather work, and its oceanographic mapping is vital for many businesses. In addition, according to the ScaleUp Institute, Exeter is a growing start-up and scale-up ecosystem in climate tech, health and manufacturing. In short, Exeter’s economy is thriving in sectors that are important for the future of the UK economy.However, we face challenges that will hold back our economy and our ability to deliver on those national priorities if we do not address them. One of the major challenges is the regularity and the resilience of our public transport system. I have much to say about our bus network, but today I shall limit my contribution to our rail service.In many ways, our rail service is a success. The number of rail journeys in our region is now at similar levels to the pre-covid period, in contrast with other regions. Between April 2023 and March 2024 there were 50.9 million journeys to, from or within the south-west region. Of that total, 25.4 million were made within the south-west in the latest year; the rest were to London or elsewhere in the country. Devon counted 10.3 million journeys across 42 stations between April 2023 and March 2024. People in Devon have got back on the railways in great numbers. That shows their enthusiasm and the need for reliable, available and affordable rail services in our county. Rail is vital for sustainable economic growth that everyone can participate in, that delivers new, well-paid jobs and that is generated in an environmentally sustainable way.
- I commend the hon. Gentleman for highlighting this issue. At Christmas, rail and bus services are a massive problem. The alternative is extortionate prices for taxis, which are just not sustainable for the ordinary man or woman on the street. Does he agree that there is more the Government could do, alongside the rail and bus companies, to improve public transport services for those who depend on them late at night, for their employment or for leisure activities?
- I absolutely agree that for many people in the lowest-paid jobs or who work night shifts, the lack of transport over the Christmas holidays and at regular times is a real challenge.Research commissioned by the Rail Delivery Group shows that the rail industry generated £1.1 billion in economic, environmental and social benefits to the south-west over the previous year, and that rail customers contributed £2.7 billion through spending in local communities. If we secure 40% rail growth by 2035 by delivering improvements to our network, that could bring an additional £700 million in benefits to the south-west. Greenhouse gas emissions locally would decrease by 1,200 tonnes; congestion, which blights my city, would be reduced by 8 million hours; and 72 road traffic accidents would be prevented.At the moment, according to projections by the Railway Industry Association, rail travel is expected to grow by an average of 1.6% annually over the next three decades. That would equate to a 20% increase in rail usage by 2035, potentially raising the industry’s contribution to regional benefits to about £1.5 billion. So, an increase of 40% might seem like a stretch, but it is not beyond our capabilities if we get things right in Devon. I hear those present asking, “How could we deliver such an increase?” As Members from Devon who are present will know, there are a significant number of projects at various stages of readiness that could be initiated to achieve that 40% increase.First of all, there are the Dawlish sea wall works. Alongside considering expansion, we must consider the resilience of our current rail network, keeping the gains that we have already made. When the devastating storm of 2014 hit, the sea wall at Dawlish collapsed. Alongside the cliff wall collapses, that meant that the only rail line west of Exeter, Brunel’s magnificent main line into Devon and Cornwall, was severed, cutting off the majority of our peninsula from the rest of the rail network.
- I absolutely welcome the hon. Member’s comments about the success of the Exeter-Okehampton line; the figures speak for themselves. Does he agree that the success of that line highlights why the cost of keeping the Tavistock-Plymouth line going, as set out in its business case, is a really small ask—only 1% of the cost of the rebuilding railways project nationally—and that our little bit of that previous scheme would be very welcome in our region, particularly in Devon?
- I thank the hon. Member for that intervention. I agree that what we need across Devon is to look at all these shovel-ready projects from business case onwards, to work out what will deliver the most economic value for our region and to support the mission to get economic growth going.Connecting Okehampton to Tavistock, and connecting Tavistock to Plymouth—making sure that work continues —will create an alternative through route that will increase resilience in Devon and better connect the economies of both Exeter and Plymouth deeper into Devon, delivering much-needed growth and opportunity across our county.Thirdly, the Salisbury-Exeter section of the South Western line is currently largely single-track; in fact, 75% of it is single-track. That has a huge impact on the available capacity of the line, and of course punctuality. Only about 54% to 66% of trains on that section currently run on time and the regularity of the service can really only stand at about one train per hour due to the constraints on the track.Investing in passing loops through and around Tisbury, Whimple and Honiton west of Feniton, and investment in signalling that has not been updated for 40 years, will enable more journeys and better punctuality on a line that is vital for completing the Devon Metro project. That project aims to integrate and enhance rail services in the Exeter travel-to-work area, which will aid Exeter’s vital strategic position as the gateway to the south-west peninsula. It will bring communities across Devon together in one transport network that can deliver trains at least every half hour, and up to every 15 minutes. People in London may well raise their eyebrows at that.Fourthly, I want to mention the Northern Devon Railway Development Alliance, members of which I met recently. They impressed on me the importance of their vision for a complete modernisation of the Exeter-Barnstaple line, allowing potential improvement outcomes.
- I thank the hon. Member for giving way and for bringing this debate on rail in Devon. Trains on the Tarka line from Barnstaple to Exeter are currently at overcapacity, partly because of one-way pressure of journeys. Large numbers of college students travel to Exeter in the morning and back in the evening. Those trains need an extra carriage, but platforms on the route are too short to accommodate it. Does the hon. Member agree that something as basic as lengthening a platform is likely to leave passengers in Devon feeling hard done by, given the significant rail investment elsewhere in the country?
- I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. The point about significant rail investment elsewhere in the country, which I will come on to, has an impact on how we see it and how we should be fighting for a better railway system in Devon.
- I am sure that we are all aware of and concerned about the recent report from Peninsula Transport that emphasises the problems we shall experience in Devon because of the impact of the HS2 development in Birmingham, which will close Paddington station for up to 10 years. Will the hon. Member reassure us that the Government might do one or both of the following: decrease rail fares to encourage people to come to Devon, even though it will take an extra 20 minutes, and give proper money to local government to invest in rail and road infrastructure, during that effective closure of the network from Paddington to Cornwall?
- I thank the hon. Member for her intervention. Some hon. Members joined me and others at a recent meeting with the rail Minister Lord Hendy to discuss the impact of the works at Old Oak Common associated with HS2. I will not go into that too much in this speech, as it is a big topic. I am in favour of HS2 going ahead, and feel what has happened to that project over the years has been disgraceful. In the south-west we need to see effective management of that project to ensure that disruption is minimised. We also need to see investment in our local railway lines to ensure that we see the benefit of public transport, as well as the rest of the country.Speaking of the Exeter-Barnstaple line, potential improvement outcomes of the project include significantly improved punctuality and reliability for both Barnstaple and Okehampton train services, with reduced knock-on delays to other parts of the national network. It would deliver materially faster typical journey times, with a fastest journey between Barnstaple and Exeter St Davids of no more than 55 minutes, with potential further material time journey savings. It would also double train service frequency from hourly to two per hour—[Interruption.]
- Order. I will suspend the sitting for Divisions in the House. We expect three votes; 15 minutes are allowed for the first one and 10 minutes for subsequent votes. There may be two or three. If Members get back as quickly as possible, and the mover of the motion and the Minister are in their place, we will commence the debate. That is an encouragement for others to make it back tout de suite from the second or third Division.
- 4:42 pm
- Sitting suspended for Divisions in the House.
- 5:21 pm
- On resuming—
- It is a pleasure to continue serving under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard.The third reason why the Exeter-Barnstaple line would be of benefit to Exeter and Devon is that it would double the hourly service to two trains per hour between Barnstaple and Exeter, and would provide three trains per hour for Crediton. It would deliver huge economic and growth benefits for north Devon, connecting the towns to Exeter so that commuters, small businesses and tourists have better access to opportunities across the county.Two of my stations, Exeter St Thomas and Polsloe Bridge, have no accessibility arrangements. People can use them only by lugging themselves up significant flights of steps, which is an impossible task for the elderly or infirm, the disabled, and mothers and fathers with young children and buggies. Another station in my constituency, St James Park, has accessibility at only one side, so wheelchair users can get off the train but they cannot get back on to it to go whence they came, because there are steps on one side. That is clearly unacceptable, so I would welcome the Minister’s comments on the outstanding Access for All fund.I accept the rail infrastructure investment difficulties that the Government inherited at the general election; I know that a lot of the funds were mere public relations press releases and did not really have any funding attached to them.
- I thank my hon. Friend—I will call him that, as he is my neighbour from Exeter—for securing this important debate. I want to take the politics out of all this. I know he is not raising this issue, but Old Oak Common will cause significant disruption to our county of Devon and the wider region. It is imperative that we work together to offset those issues as quickly as possible. He has spoken about the storms that we have every year. It is a cycle: we get cut off every year. I really fear, as I am sure that he does, that High Speed 2 and Old Oak Common will further compound those issues. Does he agree that we need to work together to get the best deal for Devon and the wider south-west?