Cornish Rail investment campaign reaches climax as George presents “resilience” petition to Parliament

 

Andrew George with rail resilience petition at Penzance Railway Station

 

A longstanding campaigner for Government investment in the Cornish Intercity and Sleeper rail services from Penzance, West Cornwall MP Andrew George, has vowed to keep up the pressure as he brings his campaign to a crescendo in anticipation of an imminent announcement on a crucial project which could also create 60 jobs in his constituency.

Mr George will this evening (Tuesday 1st July 2014) present to Parliament the petition he launched in February after storms cut the line at Penzance and Dawlish. More than three thousand locals have signed his petition in recent weeks.

He has long been calling for the investment necessary to ensure a resilient rail service from Penzance to Paddington. He has warmly congratulated the quality of a recent bid from Cornwall Council for a Sleeper service upgrade, a new and enhanced Train Care Centre at Long Rock and other infrastructure investments. He also thanked his Cornish Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Stephen Gilbert and Dan Rogerson for their powerful campaigning.

Mr George said, “I am not asking for favours; just a fraction of the billions of pounds being spent on transport infrastructure for the benefit of the wealthy South East.

“This campaign has been going for years. If we secure the Sleeper upgrade and Train Care Centre investment as we should, that’s not the end but the beginning. There’s a great deal more needed to improve our rolling stock and rail infrastructure so that we don’t get left behind.

“I have been humbled by the thousands of local people who have supported my petition to build up pressure on the Government to make sure that the Penzance line secures the investment it deserves for resilient rail service.

“MPs across all parties, in Cornwall and the South West, have already voted not to deny communities on the London North corridor the £billions of investment necessary for HS2 to get underway. It is therefore only fair to ask that the Government gives us a reasonable share of investment to provide the resilient and reliable rail service from Penzance to Paddington. The petitioners and the thousands of locals who support them expect nothing less.”