So often, when we talk about transport we get fixated on the daily commute. We’re stuck in traffic jam. We’re standing in a crowded train. We’re late.

But transport, the simple means of getting people and things from A to B, is far more than that. It defines so much of who we are. It shapes our culture and our lives in ways far more subtle and long lasting.
A couple of thousand years ago, not far from here, some Roman engineers built a road. The Fosse Way, Britain’s first great Roman Road, linked Exeter in the south with Lincoln in the north.

For the first time, people could travel in what would have been relative ease from one end of the country to another. They would have met each other; sold to each other; swapped ideas with each other like never before.

Strategic decision making about transport may have started with the Romans, it certainly didn’t stop there. From the late 18th century, the 44 locks of the Thames and Severn Canal linked Stroud with the River Thames at Lechlade, then on to London and the national canal network.

Then, as the agrarian revolution became an industrial one, the canal boat was supplanted by the steam train. The Great Western Railway linked Bristol, Plymouth and Penzance with everywhere from London, Birmingham and Birkenhead.

Later, a spiders web of A roads criss-crossed the countryside before the 1960s and 70s saw the arrival of the motorways. The Fosse Way, the canals and the railways, each new network injecting the economy with a hitherto unseen dynamism.

Big Picture

The country as a whole and the South West in particular needs to continually invest in its infrastructure if we are to secure our long-term prosperity. Making that investment is never more vital than it is now, when we face the full force of a global recession.

In the last decade, we’ve invested a record £150 billion in transport. It is vital investment continues and doesn’t, as some are advocating, stop. We need to keep the jobs and the skills that will ensure the region benefits from the upturn when it comes.
Across the country we’re spending another £40 billion over the next 3 years. A greater share of our national income than at any time for the last three decades.

In the South West, we’re spending over 50% more today, over £1.3 billion, than we were 5 years ago. The Cranford Bridge across the River Stour and the Dobwalls Bypass are now complete. Soon they will be joined by the Blunsdon Bypass, the Weymouth Relief Road and the Poole Twin Sails Bridge to name but a few.

We’re spending nearly £70 million with local authorities to create the Greater Bristol Bus Network. Bringing new bus lanes, better bus stops, real time information for passengers and a new fleet of busses.

Major infrastructure projects, significant investment that will help to bring prosperity and development to the region.

In the last 12 years, we’ve spent hundreds of millions of pounds modernising train stations and billions on new and improved rail links all across the country. Today, more people travel by train than at any time since World War Two.
I’ll let you into a personal secret. In the home I grew up in, the second most hated historic figure after Hitler was not Stalin, but Beeching. A love for the railways was ingrained and I am pleased to say I detect in our new Minister, Andrew Adams, a similar deep commitment and personal passion for rail.

Problems in the region

And we need his sustained commitment.

Unfortunately, “Great” has not always been an accurate description of our regional rail company. I think we should commend Mark [Hopwood, MD] and his team from First Great Western for the incredible improvement over the last year. It needs to be sustained.

One way it will do this is by investing in new rolling stock. The Rolling Stock Plan means that South West Trains and First Great Western will get around 157 extra carriages, significantly increasing peak-time capacity on the network, particularly for those commuting into London.

The government is also working with BAA and Network Rail to identify projects that will improve connections between Heathrow and the Great Western Mainline.

As part of the rail measures announced alongside the Heathrow announcement, we’re looking at extending electrification. Including on the Great Western Main Line. Electric trains are lighter, quieter, more reliable, cheaper to run and better for the environment. The case looks promising and we’ll announce our decision later this year.

I know that ticket pricing on the railways is a concern for many people. Government will always have to make a judgement on the right balance of burden between the tax payer and the customer.
First Great Western is introducing an extra half a million cheap, off-peak tickets. And with inflation falling fast, we stand by the government’s formula for ticket pricing of RPI + 1% for regulated fares. And if that means that some train fares fall, then so be it.

One area of course where fares have fallen as low as zero is bus travel. 11 million people over 60 now have free, off-peak bus travel anywhere in England.

This has proved incredibly popular and we’ve seen a huge increase in travel as a result. As a health minister I would also like to note the enormous health and social benefits the scheme has brought as pensioners get out and about and interact more.

Nationally, the extra £212 million made available this year fully funds the additional costs of the new scheme; bringing the Department for Transport’s total contribution to around £1 billion per year.

But I know there are a small number of local authorities in our region, and Exeter is the worst affected, that have lost out under the current allocation formula. I, along with other parliamentary colleagues and their local authorities hit are pushing very hard within our Department of Transport colleagues to have this addressed as a matter of urgency. There will be consultation soon and you should respond.

As well as rail and bus renaissance, cycling Bristol, Sustrans and Cycling Cities have seen a 7-fold increase in cycling.

Regional Minister

Role of Regional Minister – voice of the region in government and of government in the region. The job has been augmented since the credit crunch hit.

National Economic Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, meets weekly. The Regional Financial Council, chaired by Alistair Darling and Peter Mandelson, meets every quarter and the Council of Regional Ministers the Regional Task Group meets every month.

We can quickly bring together the right people at a local level to respond to local economic shocks, to remove barriers to delivering critical local services and to create jobs.
Identifying any infrastructure projects, including transport projects, that have been held up – unlock them and bring others forward.

Regional Funding Advice

Tne issue I am being lobbied on heavily at the moment is the Regional Funding Advice. This has now been submitted by the Regional Assembly, the Regional Development Agency and the South West Strategic Leaders Board to the government and it outlines the region’s priorities in transport, housing and economic development for the coming decade.

I cannot comment on the merits or otherwise of the proposals before the government makes its formal response by the summer. However, I am well aware of the concerns of many in this room. The government will listen to all representations made. I would encourage you and encourage you to encourage others to make them. We want to ensure that what comes out at the end is properly compatible with the region’s and the government’s sustainable transport policy.

Delivering a Sustainable Transport System

We set that out at the end of last year. It is to:

• support places, such as in the South West, that are growing and will continue to grow when the recession ends.

• to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions;

• It states our commitment to the safety and security of the transport network;

• To encouraging cycling and walking, so vital if we are to be a fitter, healthier nation;

• To creating a fairer society, making it easier for more people to move from one place to another.

A new road, an upgraded train line or a new bus service, these aren’t ends in themselves, but a means to an end. They help to make this country a more prosperous, a healthier, a more equal place. They help people to live and work and move about more easily.

The Romans didn’t just build roads. They brought people together to enable trade and the expansion of the Roman empire. The Victorians didn’t just build railways, they made Britain the workshop of the world. They understood the vital, strategic importance of transport.

With the right investment, the right long-term vision and by working together we can make sure that when recovery comes, the South West can make the most of it.

Thank you.