READING’S debt to railways was highlighted in a speech by MP Matt Rodda, who said the town grew dramatically as a result.
Speaking in House of Commons debate about HS2, he said: “I represent a town that also grew dramatically due to the railways. Indeed, the whole spread of southern England, from west London through Slough, Reading and smaller places such as Didcot, Swindon and over to Bristol, benefited hugely from that historic railway investment.
“We look forward to further investment and benefits from Crossrail and the Elizabeth line.”
The Reading East MP also praised the Reading Buses network: “In my town and the surrounding suburban areas, there are huge benefits when people use public transport. It frees up road space —that is at a premium, and it is extremely difficult to create any more in urban areas — for people who have to travel, such as those who have a trade or an urgent need to drive or are using a route not provided by public transport.”
Mr Rodda said Crossrail – the Elizabeth Line – had been created by a team that had “achieved amazing things”.
“We would have seen Maidenhead as the western terminus of Crossrail, had there not been heavy lobbying within Berkshire and the wider Thames valley for Reading to be that terminus,” he continued.
“Obviously, I have a slight bias towards my own home town being the terminus, but arguably there were bigger economic cases to be made.
“Every council in the Thames valley area, whether Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrat, supported Reading becoming the western terminus.
“Parties worked together (for) the good (of) the whole area, and in the same way we worked together on other projects and programmes, including the western rail link and other enhancements to our region.”
Benefits include seeing companies such as Ericsson move from an industrial estate in Surrey to Reading town centre because of its connectivity.
“We need to think about relocating attractive new business opportunities into the transport hubs that have long-term sustainable connections, that do not suffer from delays and congestion like road transport and that are much quicker and more flexible,” he said.
Mr Rodda was excited by the way in which local authorities and businesses are considering the next stages for Crossrail, and other uses for the line.
He said that the proposed HS2 railway line would be a “crucial piece” of rail infrastructure and was a “national priority for us all” and should be completed in full, adding later in the debate that it should be seen as a “once-in-a-century” project that benefits all of us.
And Andrew Stephenson, the transport minister, agreed to meet with him and other Berkshire and West London MPs to discuss issues around the line.
The comments were made in a debate held on Monday, June 20, about HS2 between Crewe and Manchester.
