Speeches by Alexander.

“What we will not do is make the same mistakes as the right hon. Gentleman’s party made in government. When the former Prime Minister cancelled the 2030 phase-out date for the sale of new pure diesel and petrol vehicles, demand plummeted. We will not change the 2030 phase-out date for pure internal combustion engine veh…”

“The Rail Minister often tells me that the art of answering questions on transport is to have all the detail at your fingertips. I must disappoint the hon. Gentleman, as I do not have the specific answer he seeks, but I promise him that I will go away, find out and come back to him.”

“I appreciate the importance of affordability to the travelling public, and I understand the desire of the hon. Gentleman’s constituents to see lower fares. We are rolling out pay-as-you-go ticketing to make journeys frictionless in the south-east, but there are currently no plans to expand that London-wide fare payment…”

“I am obviously sorry to hear about the disruption to businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Let me take this issue away for her and talk to the Mayor of the West Midlands and all relevant parties to ascertain whether anything can be done to mitigate the impact on her constituents.”

“As I said earlier, publicly owned operators are performing better, on average, when it comes to reliability and cancellations. On the particular issue with the Fen line that the hon. Gentleman raises on behalf of his constituents, I will seek more information about what is causing the problems there and what plans the …”

“I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss this issue. One of the key things that we are trying to do is improve public transport nodes, so I would be interested to discuss this matter with him further.”

“My hon. Friend will know that we are spending £280 million on improving station accessibility during this spending review. I will seek to find new opportunities to fund further work on stations as part of future spending discussions, and I expect the new integrated leadership of GBR to work closely with local councils,…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his remarks and for the tone in which he has expressed himself. I share in the condolences he has expressed to the driver of the Corby train, Shaun Burton—as I said in my opening remarks, the thoughts of the whole House are with his family at this awful time. The right hon. Gentlema…”

“I spoke yesterday to the managing director of East Midlands Railway, Will Rogers, and the Chair of the Transport Committee is completely right to say that support must also be provided to the staff who were caught up in this incident. One of the things that Will Rogers explained to me is that he is receiving support fr…”

“With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the tragic collision between two passenger trains on Friday 19 June. I realise that hon. Members will be aware of some of the details, but today I would like to set out the facts as we know them so far. At approximately 5.15 pm on Friday evening…”

“My hon. Friend is right to highlight the impressive and selfless response from so many people, including some in his own constituency, as well as the railway staff. He mentioned Shaun Burton, and it strikes me that it would be appropriate to read the comments of Will Rogers, the managing director of East Midlands Railw…”

“I will ask the Rail Minister to respond in writing to the hon. Gentleman’s suggestion about diverting stopping services from the east coast main line. We are working closely with all train operators to ensure that adequate service is provided. While no services are operating between Luton and Bedford, there are current…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his responsible remarks, and I thank him for raising the response of the emergency services, as well as the response of the railway staff who ensured that swift action could be taken once the collision had happened. It is worth saying once again how quickly, bravely and professionally our…”

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“My hon. Friend is completely right to highlight the vital role that train drivers play. I would like to put on record my thanks to Dave Calfe, the ASLEF general secretary, for his statement over the weekend. The Rail Minister has spoken with the general secretary, and we will continue to work to ensure that drivers are…”

“I can reassure my hon. Friend of that, and she is right to highlight the very human impact of what happened. The trains were busy trains coming into London on a Friday evening. It concerns me to hear that her constituents had to organise private transport. Would she write to me in more detail about those circumstances,…”

“I said earlier today that we are fortunate to have some of the safest railways in the world, but as I said in my statement, I know that that will not provide any consolation to anyone who was impacted by this incident. As we set up Great British Railways, safety will remain absolutely central to everything that the rai…”

“I will, of course, join my hon. Friend in thanking the firefighters from Milton Keynes, who were very fast on to the scene. I would also like to thank all those from Network Rail who are involved in recovering the trains. Some Members may have seen the images of a road being built through a field, as we speak, to erect…”

“I do, of course, join my hon. Friend in thanking those independent coach operators. She is also right not only to draw attention to the incredible work of NHS staff at the three hospitals where people were sent, but to recognise the patience and forbearance of the local community in ensuring that the hospital staff can…”

“I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend’s remarks. Anyone who, like him, has been in a cab with a driver will understand the skills, attention to detail and alertness that drivers require. He is right to say that they often go unthanked, hidden away in the driver’s cab, but billions of journeys each year on our rail…”