Hull North MP Diana Johnson has responded to comments made on BBC TV Look North yesterday by the Lib Dem Treasury Chief Secretary about rail electrification to Hull.
On a visit to Hull the Lib Dem Treasury Minister had expressed doubt about whether the Selby to Hull rail line would be electrified in time for Hull's year as City of Culture in 2017, due to current Government funding allocations having been already made.
However, the First Hull Trains scheme for the rail upgrade is predominantly made up of private sector investment. It only requires the Government to agree the scheme and allocate a small amount of capital for it to proceed alongside the schemes already announced.
Because Hull was not included in the initial list of rail schemes announced last year by the Government, the rail electrification scheme for Hull has gone into a general Whitehall review of rail schemes not included in the current allocation. But these will only be considered for the next round of investment after 2019.
It appears that the Chief Secretary to the Treasury was unaware of this and of the private sector-led bid for Hull. Humber MPs, councillors and business leaders recently lobbied the Transport Secretary in support of the Hull Trains scheme.
The comments by Danny Alexander MP come in the same week as news that Hull and the North will see Transpennine rail services cut in order to move trains to improve railway services in the South of England.
Diana Johnson MP said: "It was worrying that on his visit to Hull the Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury appeared clueless that the Hull Trains scheme to electrify the rail line from Selby to Hull is overwhelmingly made up of private sector investment.
"Contrary to Danny Alexander's comments, the Hull Trains scheme does not require a large allocation of Government funding from tax-payers to enable it to go ahead, unlike other rail schemes elsewhere that are also under consideration.
"With the A63 road upgrade not happening before Hull's 2017 City of Culture, it is all the more important that Hull rail electrification gets the go-ahead from Ministers as soon as possible.
"It's disappointing that we've heard a senior Lib Dem Minister on television expressing doubt about an early go-ahead for Hull rail electrification, especially as it comes a few days after learning that the Transpennine railway across the North to Hull will be cut in order to move trains to the South - improving their rail services at the North's expense."