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Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Bill

There is a danger of course that one will repeat observations made at Second Reading. The capacity at Waterloo has only just been released through the development of St Pancras station as the new international centre. We have been thinking for some while about this and what we would do with the capacity that is there. We have an investment programme which extends into the future, and the noble Lord is well aware of that. This is one of the largest ever investment programmes in developing capacity across the network that we have had in recent decades. I am proud that our Government are taking this forward. There has to be a list of priorities. Of course it is frustrating that we cannot immediately turn the capacity that is there into additional capacity on the network, but it is our intention that platform 20 will come on stream later this year. As I explained to the noble Lord the last time we had an outing on this issue, certain changes have to be made to track and platform to make use of the other capacity that is there. We shall do that and there is a timescale for it. That is clearly understood. More than that I cannot say, other than that of course the disposal of the CTRL will bring more resources into the department and enable us to expand capacity generally. I do not think there is confusion in our minds about the need to do that; we have made that very clear over the past few months. We are now beginning to roll out the way in which that extra capacity will manifest itself. I share part of the noble Lord’s frustration but we have a timeframe and plans for investment. We are bringing platform 20 on stream and such matters have to take their place in a list of priorities. I believe that we all share the dream of expanding the capacity of the rail network, and the Government have a responsibility to make that happen, which is exactly what we plan to do.