The alternatives we publish today range from airfields to supertrams, roads to rail, bicycles to bridges.
We propose a new approach, designed around the needs of passengers and communities and the businesses who depend on rail freight to trade.
In Birmingham, rail has recently become the leading mode for commuting – overtaking the car. This makes it the only city outside London where this is true.
A lack of information about upcoming work, reduces rail businesses’ investment, jobs, and skills development, and threatens the ability of smaller rail firms to survive.
Pay as you go is an efficient and cost-effective method that has made travel easier for a vast number of rail users already.
Devolution has given us the chance to solve the long-standing transport and infrastructure problems which have been holding us back.
Customers want fares that meet modern working patterns, flexibility if plans change and the best available price for the service received.
Plus: Up, up and away – HS2’s costs. Staying down – LibDem poll ratings. Stuck where they are – Labour’s.
The more one thinks about it, the more problematic it becomes.
We must drive this project forward. It is a vital piece of infrastructure which could allow a million new homes to be built. But we need to sort out the route.
Crucial investment in local rail infrastructure isn’t an alternative to the new line, it depends on it.
“How would you feel if we spent the money on local transport links in the Midlands and the north?’’ Gove asked Conservative MPs last year.
Strikes are causing misery for train passengers. But don’t expect condemnation from Corbynista MPs – they are funded by the RMT.
In the second article of our mini-series, the Harlow MP calls for a relentless focus on the cost of living, a skills-based economy, social injustices and affordable housing.
The Rail Delivery Group has just suggested a more modern system of tickets and fares. But such change should be only the start.