'I am battling Avanti about restoring direct services between Chester and London'

MP for Chester

THE government’s rail announcement last week was a big disappointment. The headlines will be grabbed by the scrapping of the eastern leg of HS2 and the abandoning of HS3 – the new fast line across the Pennines.

But for Chester too it was a damp squib, in fact we didn’t even get a mention despite the fact that I and the council have lobbied ministers on a variety of projects.

One obvious example is the electrification of the Crewe to Chester line – and onwards along the North Wales coast. Three other lines are being upgraded but not ours.

We’ve been calling too for support for Cheshire West & Chester Council’s plans to upgrade Chester station. To improve track and signalling work and increase capacity – and yes, to build a safer new bridge to take Hoole Road, pedestrians and cyclists over the railway. Those plans are proceeding, slowly, but they were ignored by the government this week. This is called the Growth Track 360 scheme with Chester the central hub for our regional railways.

Meanwhile I am battling Avanti about restoring direct services between Chester and London. Constituents have also been complaining about the price of tickets to Crewe and beyond. Avanti’s first response to me was a standard non-reply but that isn’t going to make me shut up and go away.

If we want to get people out of cars and on to public transport, then our trains must be affordable and reliable. We have the most expensive trains in western Europe, with private operators taking out large dividends despite receiving millions in public subsidy. It takes well over an hour to get to Manchester from Chester and the trains are often jam packed, especially if they are also going to the airport. Season tickets have increased by 58% since 2010. It says something about our trains when commuters prefer to chance their luck on the M56 in peak hours.

I support HS2 and am pleased it will be built to Crewe: we must get the services to enjoy the economic benefits in Chester. But having spent many billions of pounds on this important project, the government should retain ownership, not hand it over lock stock and barrel to a private operator.

And the fares must be affordable, to provide a return for the public investment but primarily to provide a public service. And the North of England must get our fair share: London got twice as much spending per head on transport than the North last year.

I want to see a rail revolution for Chester and the North. So far all we get is broken promises.