Railways: South West

Mr. Sanders
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the effect of the removal of South West Trains services west of Exeter from December 2009 on the economy.

Paul Clark
Analysis conducted as part of the franchise replacement process recommended the withdrawal of the four South Western services per weekday west of Exeter. From a National Rail perspective loss of revenue is minimal as there are alternative services operated by other train operators, with clear national financial benefit for this change of circa £5.5 million net present value (NPV) over the franchise. This will enable an hourly service to be introduced between Exeter and London Waterloo, a long held local and regional authority ambition, which will have a significant benefit to the Devon economy.