Speeches by Glover.

“That is very interesting, thank you.”

“Mr Pasternak, I do appreciate you will not be able to go into anything that is subject to any confidential commercial discussions, but given our move to Great British Railways do you think there is potential for UK operators to access EUROFIMA financing in the future?”

“That is very interesting, thank you. Mr Brown, what is the view of Angel Trains on the idea of the UK participating in a EUROFIMA way of doing things?”

“Mr Brown, I am very grateful to you for attending the Committee, particularly given that several other ROSCOs were invited but none was able to field a witness. To the extent that you feel you can say, would you say that the views you have shared with us today are broadly representative of the sector as a whole?”

“Of course.”

“Hear, hear. On that point, the Government’s plans for nationalisation and GBR clearly see ROSCOs as still playing a central role. It is not something that they have opted to change in the context of their proposals. Do you feel that the UK ROSCO model is still the best one? What role can Angel Trains and others play in…”

“The pandemic has changed a lot about the railway in the UK, and we are still seeing the effects of that. How do you feel that rolling stock procurement has changed since the advent of the pandemic? Can you characterise the difference between how well or otherwise you think it was working before 2020 compared to today?”

“That perfectly leads us on to the rolling stock pipeline, but cynics would suggest that asking the Department for Transport to stick to timelines is like praying for miracles, but I couldn’t possibly comment, of course.”

“You were pretty clear earlier on what you said you thought is needed from the Department for Transport and Government to support rolling stock manufacturing here. It was that clarity about the pipeline and what is coming up. How coherent do you feel the overall direction is in sticking to the number of trains put in a …”

“I was just about to ask you about that, but carry on.”

“I have a quick supplementary on that because I was just about to ask you about it. It seems to me, from reading about railways in Europe, that the UK is more fixated about bi-mode and tri-mode and, who knows, quad-mode or five-mode, but what are the implications for you of what is now arguably overcomplicated rolling s…”

“Isn’t it fortunate that LNER has not ordered a really small sub-fleet of 10 tri-mode trains that will be incompatible with its existing one?”

“Yes, briefly. It is interesting that you mentioned Ireland, because we went on a Select Committee trip there. They were very clear that they see the role of battery mostly as temporary, until they can get the capital for overhead wires. I think you are right in what you are saying about main lines. Do you think that th…”

“Do you have anything to add?”

“Yes, hopefully, although I am sure you would accept that in Germany they are carrying on with electrifying a lot of their main lines as well, aren’t they?”

“13. What steps he is taking to increase grid capacity”

“In my Oxfordshire constituency of Didcot and Wantage, sites at Culham, Harwell campus and Milton Park host a growing range of scientific and high-tech businesses, including a proposed artificial intelligence growth zone at Culham. Major housing growth also continues, and the new Valley Park development will use air sou…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention—[Interruption.] Well, I will answer in good time. Of course it would not be a debate in this place without him having a pop at the Liberal Democrats in Government. As he will appreciate from the many councils where Labour is in coalition with the Liberal Democrats and oth…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss—for the first time, in my case. I pay sincere and warm tribute to the hon. Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton) for her passionate speech and her huge dedication to the great work that has gone on in her constituency to tackle crime and antisocia…”

“It is great to see this Bill come to the Commons. I applaud its desire to improve the quality and availability of bus services. Buses are at the core of our public transport system and are often wrongly neglected in favour of what some—although definitely not me—would describe as sexier and more alluring methods of tra…”