Members voted on the Railways Bill yesterday as it was back before Parliament and it’s another important step in fixing our broken rail network.
Last year, Labour passed the Public Ownership Act, bringing passenger rail services back under public control as contracts expire. This Bill builds on that by creating a simpler, more accountable railway through Great British Railways, bringing track and train together and putting passengers back at the heart of the system.
During the debate before the vote, I asked the minister about Middleton Junction to show the difference devolution and local control can make. Because our trams are publicly run and locally controlled, we can make more progress in expanding our network. We need the same for our trains.
For too long, people in the North have paid the price for delays, cancellations and underinvestment while promises came and went.
That’s changing.
This Labour Government is properly backing Northern Powerhouse Rail with £45 billion of investment to improve connections between our northern towns and cities, unlocking growth, jobs and opportunity; a project which the Tories failed to deliver and Reform are against.
Even closer to home, we’re also moving towards Bee Network Rail in Greater Manchester. That means rail services becoming part of the same joined-up public transport system as our buses and trams, with Moston and Mills Hill stations which serves constituents benefiting from a network designed around passengers – not fragmented operators – as they join the publicly controlled network in 2028.
Reliable, affordable and integrated public transport shouldn’t be a luxury, it should be the standard. After years of drift, we’re finally getting on with the job.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 