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New Trains (Investment)

I am always grateful for help from the hon. Lady, who has always been an enthusiastic supporter of the European Union and has argued that case from her days as a Member of the European Parliament. She seems to have been rather quieter on the subject of Europe in recent times—[Interruption.] The relevance of Europe comes from the importance of having rail manufacturing facilities in the UK that can successfully compete right across the European Union—a policy that might be in jeopardy if her party's policy on the European Union were ever to prevail. What is important to safety, without getting into too much technical detail, is not so much the weight of the train but its construction. The hon. Lady is right that the way Pendolino trains are constructed means that passengers enjoy much greater protection, as we have seen in one or two recent incidents. In the Grayrigg accident, for example, the construction of the Pendolino train almost certainly provided protection to passengers. We want that same level of safety and security available to all passengers on all our trains.