Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by David Leslie Taylor (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 6 December 2005 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Rail Services

Question: The Burton-upon-Trent to Leicester route, including the third oldest rail line in England, runs through the heart of the national forest, crosses three counties, links two regions and serves Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Coalville in my constituency. Since Beeching killed off passenger services, our area has been transformed economically, socially and environmentally and there is huge support for the return of passenger rail services. Can the Minister indicate how a local community can proceed in the light of the fact that the county council's support has cooled dramatically since political control changed in 2001? Perhaps he could include me in the consultation on the successor franchise to which he has referred.

Answer: I am happy to commit to ensuring that my hon. Friend and other local MPs are included in the consultation on the new franchise. There are two routes by which a case can be made to return services to that line. One is to go back to the local council and convince it to include it in the local transport plan. The other is to have it included as a priced option when the franchise is let in a couple of years. The local community needs to proceed on either basis.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 440 c719
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: East Midlands Railways Travel Subsidies Leicestershire Leicestershire County Council Community railways initiative Franchises Midland Mainline Central Trains
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk