FEATURE: LOGISTICS, FREIGHT & TRANSPORTATION
MPs back the rail plan The Peninsula Rail Task Force has the backing of local Members of Parliament Gary Streeter (top) and Oliver Colvile who is also Chair of the SW Rail All Party Parliamentary Group. Gary Streeter MP commented:
“I congratulate all those involved in compiling this 20 year plan which when implemented will see increasing benefits brought to our region. I now call upon government to deliver and ensure that the South West has a rail service fit for the 21st Century.” Oliver Colvile MP said: “Never again”
– That is what I hear from communities across the South West Peninsula when I ask about connectivity from our region. Never again can we be cut off from the rest of the country because of creaking infrastructure and severe storms. This report, which is the culmination of years of hard work by people across the South West, gives a sound and forward thinking blueprint for the next generation of rail travel to the Peninsula. The storms of February 2014 forced Government to sit up and listen to what we had been saying for years – that the South West has been chronically under-funded for decades, resulting in millions of pounds lost in growth over a six-week period. “Whilst the Government gave the commitment to sort the line out at
Dawlish and the Orange Army of Network Rail engineers fixed the line, it has taken a united front, speaking with one voice, to get to this point. “This is a serious report, which I know will spark a serious discussion
about how we deal with a historical lack of funding into our region. Better connectivity means better, higher paying jobs and in turn, greater growth for our region. It took a shock to the system to reach this point, but I am sure that this report will lay the foundations for a golden generation in connectivity to and from the South West.”
January/February 2017 Chamber Profile 21
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