Chloe Smith leads calls for better train service

Chloe Smith, Norwich North MP, has led all eight Norfolk MPs in lobbying Lord Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport, to improve Norfolk's railway service.

Chloe is today writing to Lord Adonis, on behalf of the MPs, arguing for vital improvements required in the next franchise for the Norwich-London line. This follows the announcement last autumn that National Express East Anglia will not enjoy the franchise re-award automatically, and highlights the golden opportunity for the government now to improve the service through drafting the next contract.

In the letter, attached, the MPs argue for the economic importance of rail in Norfolk and:

"...Echo the six priorities expressed by Shaping Norfolk's Future, whose partners in a campaign for improvements include the East of England Development Agency, Regional Cities East, the Norfolk Rail Alliance, Norfolk County Council and the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce:

Faster journey times
More carriage capacity
Investment in track infrastructure to enable faster and more reliable journeys
Retention and development of a high quality intercity service offering an excellent travel experience on clean, comfortable, wi-fi enabled trains, including good catering facilities
Improved station environment and facilities
Longer franchises which can further increase investment in the service

"We welcome your statement this month favouring longer franchises for the future and trust that such a model will be considered for application to the Norwich-London line.

"Furthermore, we strongly believe you should consider action to secure:

a) Good weekend services
b) Effective ticketing, marketing and customer information
c) Investment in new engines
d) Options for local services out of Norwich for leisure travellers and commuters, building partnerships to do so if appropriate
e) Extension the franchise definition to include Norwich-Peterborough (which overlaps to Ely with Norwich-Cambridge)
f) Modernisation of line and stations throughout the region and including other key interchanges such as at Stratford and Stansted

"We recognise the role of Network Rail in achieving these ends, and acknowledge that a considerable element of the responsibility for current poor service rests with Network Rail's performance in East Anglia. Reviewing the work of Network Rail alongside the re-franchising process is central to securing a better service and gaining effective infrastructure investment."

The MPs have also secured a promise from Transport Minister Chris Mole MP to meet towards the end of the consultation on the franchise specification, in order to put across the views of Norfolk residents.

Chloe Smith, Member of Parliament for Norwich North, comments:

"It is vital to secure improvements on the Norwich-London line. All of us as passengers know how bad the service can be, day in day out, and that must change. The government has the opportunity to force change through their drafting of the next contract and in this letter we are stating very clearly what people expect from that process. This opportunity must not be missed. Meanwhile, people also demand that National Express completes its current contract without letting standards slip any further."