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Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Bill

My Lords, the noble Lord sells the argument a bit short. I do not want to open up a bigger discussion about franchising generally but in short the franchising process has to meet certain specifications. That is one of the plus points of competitive bidding. Clearly, we want to see a high threshold in standards of service and I am sure that will be secured through that process. The noble Earl, Lord Mar and Kellie, said this should not be just about money. Of course, it should not be just about money but we as a Government have to secure best value. By securing best value we secure in the longer term a better level of investment in the rail network as a whole. I think that is well understood by noble Lords. I ought to set out the Government’s view on whether we should develop High Speed 2 because all speakers referred to that. Last summer’s White Paper set out our immediate priority for the future of the main line network; namely, to increase capacity by somewhere in excess of 20 per cent. Our view was that this could be met through a range of options, including road or rail. A high-speed line is, of course, one of the options available. It is far too early to talk about firm plans but we will need to look at this along with other issues in our next plan for the railways in 2012. Therefore, we do not rule it in and we do not rule it out. I certainly understand the case that has been made but we have to prioritise and the present priority is to ensure that we have adequate capacity across the whole of the network. The delivery of High Speed 2 may well be part of that. Of course, we have to consider cost and the potential benefits to passengers of having another high-speed line and these things have to be balanced. The White Paper estimates that the cost of such a scheme could be between £10 and £30 billion. That money might not then be available for other key critical improvements to the network as a whole. The case is obviously one for the future. The noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, asked an interesting question about a domestic open access operator. The access and management regulations give main operators a right of access. Therefore, the Government cannot stop domestic open access operators seeking access to HS1, nor would we want to because it may well have benefits. The noble Earl, Lord Mar and Kellie, suggested using access charging to encourage use of the line. What was proposed when LCR’s subsidiaries consulted on access charges would have seen a significant reduction in charges for international services. The Government believe that they should be set at a level that will allow new operators to run services in the future. I think I have covered most of the main points on which noble Lords sought clarification. I shall have a careful look at Hansard to judge whether I have missed anything. If I have I shall write to noble Lords and circulate that letter to the three noble Lords who contributed to this short debate. I look forward to a constructive Committee stage, and I hope that your Lordships’ House will find full favour with the Bill. We have a high-speed rail link of which, as the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, said, we should be proud. It is a train service that links this country to Europe at a speed of 186 mph at its best. St Pancras has been transformed, and with the introduction of through ticketing it is now possible to travel from the north of England to the Continent without negotiating the rigours of the Underground. That means, in my terms, taxpayers benefiting across the nation. We have a regeneration investment estimated at £10 billion, which will be used to improve priority areas in the south-east. On top of all those benefits, we also have the opportunity to gain a tangible financial return on the taxpayers’ investment. That is a political menu to which we should all be able to sign up. Through restructuring, we will secure the long-term future of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project, which has delivered and will continue to deliver real benefits for the country. In those terms, I commend the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Bill to your Lordships’ House. On Question, Bill read a second time, and committed to a Grand Committee.