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Transport policy 'in disarray'

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18th March 2010

Passengers are suffering at the hands of Labour's failure to upgrade the intercity rail fleet, the Tories have said.

Speaking during Commons question time this morning, Theresa Villiers said that the government had "junked" planned improvement contracts.

The shadow transport secretary said: "After four successive secretaries of state have promised 1,100 extra carriages only 10 are in use on a line which is pivotal to commuters across the north of England."

And she told transport minister Chris Mole that the government's transport policy was in "disarray"

"Will you admit that the government have effectively junked the IEP contract because they dithered for so long over electrification and that Thameslink has slipped again?" she asked.

"Will you admit your policy is in disarray and commuters are paying the price for Labour incompetence?"

But Mole said: "In the first year of a five-year control period we have delivered contracts for over 40 per cent of the 1,300 target additional vehicles that we are committed to.

"I have already launched some of the additional 120 vehicles that will be used on the Greater Anglia franchise to relieve commuter congestion into Liverpool Street."

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker said the government's attempts to increase capacity had been a "fiasco from start to finish".

He said that since the privatisation of the rail operators there had been a 50 per cent increase in passenger use, but only a four per cent increase in carriage capacity.

"Given network is going to be largely diesel driven what steps is government is taking to ensure new diesel trains are going to be ordered, as none have been ordered so far," he said.

Mole said there had been record investment on railways and the decision to back electrification had "changed the nature of our commitments to rolling stock going forward".

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