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Sustainable Railways

May I do something that I have never before done in this House, Sir Nicholas? I apologise to hon. Members that owing to a prior commitment, I will have to leave before the end of the debate. When the Select Committee considered the White Paper and the Government response to the report, there were conflicting sets of statistics on the railways. One set was put out freely and regularly by the Government, because it makes a good case; they were less keen to publicise the other set. The good story is very good indeed. Over the past 17 years, passenger journeys have risen by 52 per cent. and passenger miles by 47 per cent. to their highest numbers since 1945. Those who use the west coast main line will know that it has become more reliable and faster, and the trains are better. We have benefited from £8.5 billion-worth of investment. The public performance measures of 89.9 per cent. are the best since those measures were introduced. We hear statements about such things from Ministers regularly. Today, the Secretary of State announced investment in rolling stock for the west country and the east coast main line. The other set of statistics shows that we have the highest fares in Europe at twice the level of German fares and four times that of Italian fares. Whether comparing standard fares, which used to be known as second-class fares, or first-class fares, the ratios are about the same. To put that in context, a first-class rail fare from Manchester to London would buy an air ticket to Singapore or any European capital. That is extraordinary. A standard second-class fare would buy a flight to most European capitals from Manchester airport. That puts into context the high level of fares. As my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs. Ellman) mentioned, they are still increasing above the rate of inflation. That is not surprising because it is Government policy to transfer the burden of transport from the taxpayer to the fare payer. Unless there is a change of policy, that will get worse. I mentioned that the west coast main line is now excellent. I have not checked every route, but on the rest of the Northern rail system the timetables are slower than when Gladstone was MP for South Lancashire, which is part of Manchester. In some cases, routes are slower by factors of 30 or 40 per cent. It is easier, as suggested by the hon. Member for Southport (Dr. Pugh), and sometimes quicker, to get from Doncaster to London than from Doncaster to Manchester. That is an extraordinary state of affairs. Some statements indicate that that might change, but the White Paper makes no plans for electrification or high-speed rail. The Committee feelings about the White Paper are best summed up by Brian Cook, a witness from London, who said that the proposals to cater for the increase in demand between now and 2014 would not relieve the overcrowding; the extra capacity would provide only for the extra passengers. We agreed. As my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside said, the Government's response, particularly for the period after 2014, for which they are trying to put some structure into their proposals, was overcautious and not integrated, and its ambitions were modest. How and why were they modest? The Government will invest the money where there are overcrowding problems on trains. As I said to my hon. Friend the Minister yesterday at the Transport Committee sitting, that is a profoundly reactionary policy. It means that investment in transport will go only where investment has already been made. In this country, that means London and the south-east. Whether in aviation, roads, trains or light rail, investment in new transport links has a dynamic impact. That vision is what the Government missed in the White Paper, particularly for the period after 2014.