During a Westminster Hall debate in the House of Commons on 23rd November 2010 Mark Pawsey MP took the opportunity to consider the possible affect that high-speed rail could have on the west coast main line running through Rugby providing services to London and to Birmingham and the North West.
Speaking after the debate Mark said:
“Despite the fact that the plans for HS2 do not affect the Rugby Constituency directly in that the new line will not pass through it, my concern was the possible affect on current services offered from Rugby Station. Having brought this to the attention of the Minister, I am pleased that in her response she confirmed her view that the development of the new line should result in a better service available to Rail Users in Rugby.”
During the debate, Mark said:
“I will focus on the narrow impact of high-speed rail on my constituency. I will make the point that development might not always be good. Rugby sits on the west coast main line, which has recently received substantial investment
to focus on the city-to-city times for London to Birmingham, London to Manchester and London to Glasgow. A side effect has been a reduction in the service for towns such as Rugby. The service to the north-west is much less frequent because the city-to-city times have been improved by the trains not stopping at intermediate stations. The Rugby rail users group is campaigning for the reinstatement of those services and sees the development of high-speed rail as an opportunity to recover them, because city-to-city traffic might move from the west coast main line to HS 2.”
He added:
“My concern is that towns such as Rugby may suffer from the introduction of a new high-speed rail line and receive a worse service.
The rail service is critical to the economic development of Rugby. That is recognised by the chamber of commerce. At a recent event, 50 businesses heard the case for high-speed rail and I understand that many left the presentation unconvinced and unsatisfied as to its merits. There needs to be a good understanding of business so that the project delivers benefits for it. I will conclude because many hon. Members want to contribute, but I make it clear that the existing rail network will be affected by HS 2, and it is important that there is an assessment of the impact on the communities that will be affected.”
In response to Mark’s remarks in the debate, Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Minister of State, Department for Transport said:
“My hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (Mark Pawsey) mentioned that issue and I think that there is potential for his constituents to benefit from the extra space on the west coast main line that will be released by high-speed rail. Dramatically improving connectivity between a number of our most important cities has the potential to change the economic geography of the country.”