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Transport Innovation Fund

We are already spending considerable sums on the railways—in fact, in the past seven years we have doubled the amount being spent. Moving to road pricing involves moving away from the current system of taxation to a charge based on distance travelled, so it is a big step. The objective is to get more out of the existing capacity, but I repeat the point that I made to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Duncan): much of the detail still needs to be worked out, but if we do not start thinking about the system’s possibilities, we face a future of increasing gridlock. I will get back to my hon. Friend concerning the railway line that he asks about—he has mentioned it on several previous occasions—but as he will appreciate, I do so without promising anything specific.