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South-East London Transport

I recognise what my hon. Friend is saying but, equally, he will be aware, given his comments, that the issue is not just about south-east London, but about wider areas. There are important benefits to the provision and not just for people living in the immediate catchment area. It will bring people in and take people away from other forms of transport, which will then be available for his constituents to use. I am sure that they will benefit from that provision. As a frequent user of the Blackwall tunnel, I am well aware of the problems relating to it. The Mayor, in his draft transport strategy, has talked about options and progressing""a package of river crossings in east London"." There is nothing to indicate how that would happen in terms of funding packages. As my hon. Friend will be aware, in relation to the Silverlink crossing, TfL had provided £351 million-worth of private finance initiative credits, which of course disappeared as soon as the Mayor decided that he was not going to progress. I am delighted that the debate has started, because that is exactly what needs to happen so that we solve the problem. The issue is important for local people, but it is not only important for the capital. It is also important for UK plc. My hon. Friend may be interested to know that London is part of the work that we have been undertaking on getting congestion levels down on particular routes. Today, we have announced the latest round of awards from our congestion fund, and London has received a further £6 million, bringing the total to some £13.5 million on congestion measures over the past three years to help TfL in that process. Let me briefly cover some of the other points that my hon. Friend raised. On rail services, he asked about the plan for 12-car trains and when that plan would be implemented. It is due to be completed by 2012. It was interesting that the hon. Members who formerly belonged to the official Opposition could not stay to hear my response. Perhaps that is because I was going to respond on the improved services that they have received because of the investment and commitment given by the present Government. Southeastern Trains recognises that the pattern of service provided in the adverse weather was not acceptable, which is why a review is under way. The chief executives of Southeastern Trains, of Southern and of South West Trains have written to the director of operations at Network Rail to ask for an investigation of the operation of the third rail during the freezing conditions. The reason why things improved on 9 January was that, overnight temperatures were not as severe as they were between 6 and 8 January. I see my hon. Friend grinning, but let me say that a report is going to be produced. Let us examine it, then make a considered judgment on what we believe to be the case. Time is pressing. My hon. Friend has raised a substantial number of important issues, not least the need for proper commitment from all concerned to deliver an infrastructure that meets the requirements of a capital city—