Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Philip Davies (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 23 October 2007 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Airedale and Wharfedale Lines

Question: Although I welcome the extra carriages promised by the Minister, lines are overcrowded now. Providing carriages many years in the future is not good enough; we need them now. Will he tell me how many of those extra carriages will be on the Airedale and Wharfedale lines, and what work will be done to ensure that infrastructure is in place to cope with extra carriages, such as longer platforms?

Answer: The hon. Gentleman should be careful when listening to the propaganda put out by his Front Benchers. The spending commitments in the White Paper that was published in July included a commitment to 1,300 new carriages. Those carriages will be rolled out throughout the network from next year, not 2014 as suggested by his Front-Bench spokesmen. Network Rail's strategic business plan, due at the end of October, will tell us where capacity will best be provided, and a final decision on the allocation of all the carriages will be made at the beginning of the new year.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 465 c151-2
Session: 2006-07
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Railways Overcrowding Rolling stock Airedale line Yorkshire and the Humber
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk