A parliamentary debate about train services in the South West has heard that Cornwall is “notoriously underserved by transport” and that an array of rail and road improvements need to be made to ensure the Duchy thrives in the future. The new Mid Cornwall Metro, linking Newquay and Falmouth, was also described as “not the transformational project that the Duchy needs”.

The discussion in the House of Commons on Tuesday, January 14, in front of the Transport Minister was instigated by Martin Wrigley, MP for Newton Abbot. He said the creation of the HS2 link to Old Oak Common, Britain’s new super-hub station in London, will not have any noticeable gains for the South West.

Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, responded that “it seems that with this multi-billion pound HS2 project, people in Penzance, in west Cornwall, will experience all the pain but none of the gain”.

Mr Wrigley, who highlighted work to improve the line at Dawlish in Devon, told fellow MPs that “Devon and Cornwall are notoriously underserved by transport: there is one motorway and just two national roads”. He added that the Dawlish work will be interrupted by the creation of the HS2 link to Old Oak Common.

Commuters using Bedwyn no longer have the same off-peak service into London that we had before. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, as the Government look to commission a new fleet of inter-city trains for Great Western, it would be good to see the rightful return of a proper off-peak service that supports commuters in Wiltshire?