GREATER WESTERN RAIL FRANCHISE

Early day motion 761, tabled 22 February 2005 by David Drew (Labour/Co-operative). Signed by 33 members.

That this House notes the Strategic Rail Authority's decision to invite expressions of interest for the new Greater Western franchise to be created by combining existing operations at Great Western, Great Western Link and Wessex Trains franchises; welcomes improvements in performance and reliability on South Eastern Trains since services returned to the public sector, and the significant reductions in delays since Network Rail brought maintenance back in-house; and therefore believes that to ensure value for money the Government should integrate passenger services in the Greater Western area into the public sector as existing franchises expire.

Signatures by party: Labour 27, Plaid Cymru 3, Labour/Co-operative 2, Liberal Democrat 1.