Grayling to face Transport Committee on 16th October

This from the Transport Select Committee…

Planned electrification on railway lines scrapped

In the first public evidence session for the Committee, MPs will unpick the thinking behind policy changes by the Department for Transport, including the scrapping of planned electrification on railway lines in Wales, the Midlands and the North of England.

Chair of the Committee, Lilian Greenwood MP, commented:

"The new Transport Committee wants to get to grips with the rationale for Department for Transport decisions. We want to understand the Department's thinking – get into the nuts and bolts of why they have made recent changes to policy. 

"For example, the Government announced it would scrap electrification of several high profile routes including projects between Kettering and Sheffield, Cardiff Central and Swansea and Oxenholme and Windermere. Transpennine electrification is also likely to be 'discontinuous'. Members of the Committee will want to know how the Department reached that decision, and why.

"The Secretary of State should expect to be asked how the public is served by current transport policy, whether the passenger is a disabled person seeking wheelchair spaces on buses, a regular user of the railways, or seeking updates on investment in transport in their region. 

"The Transport Committee intends to scrutinise Department for Transport decisions which impact lives across the UK, every day."

Eye notes that Lilian Greenwood is the MP for the Midland Main Line, whoops, sorry… Nottingham South.

Grayling's gift to the North revealed!

This from Eye's man in Manchester…

"People of the North, I have a gift for you. The world's largest piece… of nothing!"

A masterclass in avoiding the question...

This from last Thursday's Electrification debate...

Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)
What steps he is taking to electrify the rail network to Swansea and further west. [900455]

The Secretary of State for Transport (Chris Grayling)
I congratulate the hon. Lady on her election to this House. Electrification work is continuing on the Great Western main line, but the good news for her constituents and others in south Wales is that the new generation of electric trains will arrive in Cardiff and Swansea this autumn, providing more seats and better journey experiences. That is good news for rail users in south Wales and the west country.

Remind me, what exactly was the question?

Humza, I'm not sure that this is a great idea.

The SNP has decided to disaggregate the BTP!

Delighted to pass my first Bill with support from Greens. Will make Railway Policing more accountable & draw on wider pool of expertise

— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) June 27, 2017

Of course even in Scotland, it is rumoured that, fine Malts are watered down.

Why would you do this?

Amber Rudd, Chris Grayling, Tom Winsor, Philip Rutnam and Bernadette Kelly please note:

HANDS OFF OUR BOBBIES!

Jones unlucky at Hornchurch and Upminster

Further to yesterday's post on Simon Jones seeking selection as Tory candidate for Hornchurch and Upminster

This from Conservative Home...

Cllr Julia Dockerill... won [last nights] selection in Hornchurch and Upminster by an outright majority on the first ballot.

Back to business as usual in the DfT SpAds office...

Simon Jones shortlisted for GE2017 seat

According to Guido, Simon Jones is on the Tory shortlist to contest the Hornchurch and Upminster seat.

Jones is Chris Grayling's special adviser. He is in a three-way for the Conservative candidate nomination against Mark Field’s parliamentary researcher Julia Dorkerill and former Cameron adviser Shaun Bailey.

Hornchurch and Upminster was held in the 2015 election by Angela Watkinson for the Tories with a 13,000 majority. Watkinson is standing down as MP for health reasons.

HS2 gets a roasting at TSC

A feisty session of the Transport Select Committee yesterday.

The committee quizzed Grayling and Higgins on the latest developments at HS2, and in particular about CH2M's decision to withdraw from a major contract.

Key take-away was from TSC Chair Louise Ellman, as captured by CityAM:

Chair of the committee Louise Ellman expressed her incredulity that the onus to flag any issues lay with the bidders as opposed to the government or HS2, “the procurer of this major, major contract with very large amounts of public money” behind it.

“Is that right? Who is responsible for identifying conflicts of interest, apart from whistleblowers or the media? Who within the company?” she asked

You can watch the fun and games, here.

Eye is sure that all this committee-room unpleasantness could have been avoided, if only Higgins had used the surreal ice-breaker deployed by his Commercial Director, Beth West, at a rolling stock event for the supply chain held on the 27th March.

Beth started off proceedings by telling astonished attendees that:

"Under your seats you will find a supply of sticky backed plastic, cardboard tubes from toilet rolls and yoghurt pots and in the next 15 minutes I'd like you all to build a prototype of the high speed train you would like to build for us."

Value for money engineering indeed.

Lookalike - 'Dr Lazarus' edition

By Grabthar's hammer, by the Suns of Warvan...

...shippers, passengers and Treasury shall be assuaged!