Prime Minister visits Plymouth after storm damage
Prime Minister David Cameron has given his personal assurances in Plymouth today that all options for a fast, resilient, 21st Century rail network to serve the South West would be looked at.
At a private meeting attended by Plymouth City Council's Chief Executive Tracey Lee and Chief Executive of Plymouth's Chamber of Commerce David Parlby, the Prime Minister promised a study of all the options to create an additional, fast 21st century resilient rail route, including an inland route behind Dawlish, that was on a par with the rest of the UK.
The Prime Minister also promised to address key issues that were raised in a letter which was sent only on Friday on behalf of the peninsula's four unitary and county councils and two Local Enterprise Partnerships. During the meeting he pledged to:
- See if the repairs to the Dawlish seawall and track could be speeded up
- Clarify urgently where the promised £31.3 million SW investment programme promised last year for network resilience was being spent
- Press the Secretary of State for Transport for an immediate review of Plymouth's inclusion on the strategic transport network corridor
- Commit to ensuring passengers would have the best possible temporary services – particularly for those from Cornwall to avoid, where possible, train-bus-train journeys
David Parlby said: "It was a very useful and encouraging meeting. The Prime Minister took on board not just the immediate action needed, but how important it is for us to get the message out that despite these issues, we are open for business both now and in the long term."
Chief Executive Tracey Lee added: "Now is the time for bold action not half measures. I explained that a car journey to Exeter takes 40 minutes, yet the trains, when they operate, take an hour – and any route via Okehampton would take much longer. A fast, resilient rail service fit for the 21st century needs to address this once and for all."
The Prime Minister also complimented the city and the South West peninsula for the work that had been carried out to achieve the City Deal. The Chief Executive added: "He was impressed with all the media coverage and the fact that the city and the peninsula really pulled together to achieve this and how the media got behind it."
