Railways

My Lords, obviously each project has to be properly evaluated before it can be embarked on. I am sure that that exercise will be rigorously undertaken with regard to Birmingham New Street. Quite properly, we have set money aside for improvements there. I understand the noble Lord’s point about property values; no doubt it will be taken back to the department, which is sensitive to those issues. I am grateful for his support, and am sure that he is right about Conservative Party policy. Chris Grayling was clearly making a very accurate statement, not least because George Osborne had earlier explained that there would be no new money for Conservative Party commitments so far as the rail network was concerned. As ever, the noble Lord is an intelligent critic of policy in these matters, and I look forward to his continued support as we continue to improve the network and how it works. I remind him that, so far as regulated fares are concerned, we are committed to RPI plus 1 per cent, which has delivered stability. I am sure that he knows that the fares that have gone up most—the first-class fares and open tickets—are used by only one in 10 travellers. Fares are more affordable now. All fares have fallen by 10 per cent vis-à-vis disposable income in the past 10 years, which is probably the more important statistic.