Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh, North and Leith)
(Lab/Co-op):
Is not one of the problems the growth in the domestic air travel in the
UK for journeys that could be done much better and more appropriately
by rail? Can my right hon. Friend think of some innovative ways to achieve
such a modal shift—for example, by increasing airline passenger
duty for domestic mainland flights in the UK and using the revenues raised
to fund high-speed lines to cut journey times and make rail more attractive?
The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Alistair
Darling): My hon. Friend is right to suggest that we should encourage
people to use the most environmentally efficient way to travel if we can.
Let me give an example that is a bit further away from the city that both
of us represent. Now that the west coast main line has been upgraded at
a cost of £7.5 billion, the journey time on the train service between
Manchester and London is just over two hours, and it is extremely efficient
and probably a better way to get to London than going out to the airport
and flying down. So that is a very good example.
As I have told the House before, the Chancellor and I have asked Sir Rod
Eddington to look at some of the longer-term transport developments that
we need in this country, one of which will be whether or not we should
invest money in a high-speed rail link that runs from the north to the
south. However, I certainly agree with my hon. Friend that we ought to
encourage people to travel in a way that causes the least possible damage
to the environment, although I draw his attention to the fact that any
form of transport—high-speed rail links included—has an environmental
consequence. High-speed railway lines draw a substantial amount of energy
when people are travelling on them.
