LIB DEM BOOST FOR LOCAL RAIL LINE

5.18.00pm GMT Mon 6th Aug 2007

Mainline rail services through New Street Station could get a boost from new rail investment proposals launched by the Liberal Democrats today.

Improvements to the Coventry to Wolverhampton corridor are among the projects listed as worthy of support from a new 'Future Transport Fund' which could deliver an extra £12 billion of investment in the rail network over the next five years. The Fund is part of radical Liberal Democrat proposals to move towards a 'carbon free' transport system.

Solihull MP, Lorely Burt said:

"This is great news for local rail services. We have been waiting for measures to tackle the hugely choked Birmingham New Street corridor for a long time.

"Across Britain, more people are travelling on the railways than at any time since the 1940s - and the network was much larger in those days. Overcrowding is a big problem in many areas at peak times. This is despite rail fares continuing to rise in real terms, while the cost of motoring continues to fall.

"The government's rail white paper last month was vague and unambitious. The Conservatives have nothing to offer our rail services - it was their botched privatisation that is largely responsible for the current combination of high fares and underinvestment.

"By contrast the Liberal Democrat plan announced today would double rail investment across Britain, not just improving existing services, but providing new ones, including potential new north-south and east-west lines to the high-speed standard enjoyed on the continent. And as we expand the network we would reduce the cost of fares to passengers, getting even more people onto rail and off the roads, reducing carbon emissions produced from transport dramatically.

"The Future Transport Fund we propose will provide ring-fenced funding for the improvements that future generations need if we are to cut our carbon emissions and tackle climate change.

"We would fund it by introducing a toll on road freight - charged to foreign and UK hauliers alike - and a charge on internal air flights. Road and air transport is much more damaging to the environment than trains, and the Liberal Democrats believe this should be reflected in their relative costs."

'Towards Carbon Free Transport' is a Liberal Democrat spokespersons' paper which forms part of wider climate change proposals which will be debated at the party's conference in Brighton in September.