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Sustainable Railways

I agree that we should look at things in the round. Our rail network is set up so that almost all lines go to London. To get to the most peculiar places, people must go into London and out again. That is not typical of other European countries and it is not at all sane. Crossrail has £15 billion of funding, including £5 billion guaranteed by the Government. That is in a different league. Just think what constituencies in any other part of the UK could do with the small change from that. The tea money for the builders would accommodate various schemes up and down the country. The Olive Mount chord in Liverpool is a classic case, where the aim was to get freight off the docks quickly. We had to struggle to put that in place. I do not believe that would have happened in Tilbury. It did not require an enormous public subsidy, but it took a long time to do it. I am sure that the Committee Chairman will agree with my views about some of the Liverpool stations. To be honest, the main nodal station—where I shall be this evening at about 10.30 if I manage to get the train back—is an appalling dump. However, the Office of the Rail Regulator and Network Rail both say that it is not a priority and that there is no funding, even though Liverpool is the capital of culture and that is the main intersection. I do not believe that situation would prevail were the station in London. I accept that rail is expensive. Under the structure we have, it is more expensive than necessary. Despite large sums of money being paid, some companies are not in profit. I was surprised at the Committee Chairman's comments on what the train operating companies told the Public Accounts Committee about their financial situation because I sat on that Committee and we were sworn to secrecy on those very data. I did not think that information had seen the light of day, but clearly it has. There is a hidden subsidy with rail travel. However, there is a hidden subsidy for private transport for things such as roads and lights. Private transport also has environmental costs and congestion brings further financial and commercial costs. If all those factors are added up, there is a case for subsidised, effective railways. There is common ground on that, but I would go further. We will not get the right mix or a result that satisfies many people in this country if a centralised, London-centric view is taken of the transport network. I am aware that some people in the Department for Transport will shake their heads wisely and sadly thinking that I am naive and wrong. However, there is no evidence from the last 10, 20 or 30 years that people in the Department for Transport have got the railways right at all.