Council leader encouraged by rail talks with government minister

The Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport, Norman Baker, MP has told Council leader Tudor Evans he recognises the need to secure improvements to the peninsula rail network as a matter of urgency.

The Council Leader met the Minister in Westminster on Thursday (25 April) to reiterate the importance of measures to ensure the region's rail network can withstand further flooding, bad weather and landslips.

The Minister, whose remit includes the resilience of the country's transport network, said that the challenges facing the South West would be given serious consideration when the investment prioritisation for Network Rail is announced in June.

Councillor Tudor Evans said: "It was a good discussion. I made it very clear that we have strong economic ambitions for the city – our City of Culture bid is an example of that. But we need to get the trains back on track.

"He was very knowledgeable and well aware of the problems we face in the South West. We were able to talk in some detail about the conflict between flood protection and rail resilience at Cowley Bridge and how this particular circle needs squaring.

"The gap between the first and second flooding incident at Cowley Bridge was 100 years between 1866 and 1966, then it was 2000, then twice in 2012. Exceptional events are becoming less exceptional.

"As May approaches, I also reminded the minister that outside of London, the Westcountry is the most significant part of the UK's visitor economy.

He added: "We are not going to let this matter drop – it is too important. But we appreciate the minister listened to us in a positive way."

Earlier this year the Plymouth Rail Task Force expanded to become the Peninsula Task Force and one of its earliest achievements was preparing a paper: 'the South West Spine – the case for greater investment across the South West peninsula railway network', for the Department for Transport.

As part of the task force's work, senior key transport officers from local councils have been in discussions with Network Rail about remedial work, which so far includes lifting signal equipment along the line above flood level at known vulnerable sites; introducing extra inspections to help reduce the risk of further landslides and engineers accompanying train drivers en-route.

The task force has also worked together to submit detailed comments on Network Rail's investment plans for the years 2014 to 2019. These are now with the Office of Rail Regulation and an announcement is expected in June.

A further meeting will take place between officers and the DfT on 10 May where senior transport officers will discuss the proposed three-year extension to the Great Western franchise from October 2013. Officers will also raise the issue of capacity and passenger growth as well as electrification of the line to Plymouth and Penzance.