Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
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Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
Tel: (01273) 480281.
Fax: (01273) 480287.
Email: info
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Local MP questions rail closures
Local Lib Dem MP Norman Baker, yesterday, raised Network Rail’s numerous closures of rail lines up and down the country in the House of Commons and specifically highlighted the two day closure of the entire stretches of line between Three Bridges and both Lewes and Brighton.
In the exchange at Question Time Mr Baker slammed the two day closure of the rail lines between Three Bridges, Lewes and Brighton and demanded answers from Transport Minister, Tom Harris MP about what action the government is taking to prevent similar closures in future.
Responding to Mr Baker, the Minister acknowledged the problem of overruns to engineering works and admitted that they are standing in the way of achieving a seven day railway for passengers. The Minister also gave assurances that, following discussions with the Chief Executive of Network Rail, plans have been put in place to ensure that engineering works and overruns are both considerably less frequent and less prolonged in the cases where they do occur.
Commenting on the exchange, Norman said:
"The extent of the closures affecting the lines from Three Bridges to both Lewes and Brighton was both unnecessary and excessively prolonged. There is no reason to shut down the entire of both lines at the same time. I strongly suspect that this was done out of convenience to Network Rail and great inconvenience to passengers.
"I raised this matter personally with Network Rail seven months ago but they only responded today after my office was forced to chase them up twice. This extremely dubious management of the issue is why I am glad to have been able to raise the matter with the Minister and why I am pleased that he has given me assurances that plans are now in place to minimise the effect of engineering works affecting my constituents in future."