Local MP John Lamont has received an assurance from the UK Government that it will do all it can to facilitate the reopening of Reston and East Linton station, in Westminster today.
Using a statement on the future of the East Coast Franchise by the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling MP today as an opportunity, John Lamont MP asked to meet with the Secretary of State assurance to discuss the reopening of the stations and “how the East Coast Mainline might be able to progress them further.”
In response, the Secretary of State agreed to the meeting with John and the MP for East Lothian, Martin Whitfield and said: “I want to see services on this route develop, including new destinations.” He added that once High Speed 2 opens, “there will be the opportunity to do a whole raft of new services on this route, because of all the extra capacity which will be freed up.”
In the statement given in the House of Commons today, the Secretary of State announced that the East Coast Main Line would be brought back under government control, run by a newly branded London and North East Railway (LNER) and that this organisation will work to develop a new public-private partnership to run the east coast mainline. He also gave an assurance to staff and passengers that they will not see any changes to their services.
Commenting after the exchange, John Lamont MP said: “I am pleased that the Transport Secretary has clearly expressed his desire to see improvements to the East Coast Mainline and will now meet with me to discuss how the UK Government can help get Reston and East Linton stations reopened.
“These communities have been waiting far too long for their new stations, which have been promised to them for years now. With record amounts of money to spend on railways, the with actually building the station.
“As the Secretary of State pointed out, the opening of HS2 also provides us with an excellent opportunity to improve the East Coast Mainline because it will free up network capacity.”