Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage has today continued her campaign for better rail links to the south coast during questions to the Department for Transport.
Caroline highlighted the lengthy journey times between London and Portsmouth and expressed her concern for how slow connections can impact upon businesses in the south.
Caroline asked:
"More people now travel through Waterloo in three hours every morning than through Heathrow in an entire day, but train services to the south coast remains painfully slow, as has already been mentioned. Will the Secretary of State commit to looking into ways by which travel times, particularly to Portsmouth, can be speeded up because it is affecting business investment in our region?"
The Minister responsible, Robert Goodwill MP, responded by saying:
"Well certainly as additional capacity is provided at Waterloo, which is the busiest station in the country with almost 100 million passengers per year, that will allow more flexibility further afield. But it is a problem in terms of addressing the tremendous increase we've had in passenger ridership since privatisation."
Speaking outside the Chamber, Caroline commented:
"Commuters on the south coast have been struggling with an inadequate transport infrastructure for decades. With significant investment being made in rail links to the north, I am keen to ensure that our region is not left behind so will continue to urge the Government to do more to improve connectivity in the south."
Today's question follows a Parliamentary debate which Caroline led in March, during which she urged the Government to invest more money in the rail and road network in the Solent region.
