In Questions to the Secretary of State for Transport today (23rd
October) in the House of Commons, Michael Fabricant raised the problem
of train overcrowding on the West Coast Main Line and told Ruth Kelly of
Virgin Train’s plans to add a further two carriages to each train to
relieve congestion.

Michael Fabricant said: "The right hon. Lady will know that congestion
on the west coast main line is partly due to the fact that the trains
currently only have nine carriages. That is an increase of one on the
original plan, which was for eight carriages. Negotiations are currently
under way with the Department of Transport about providing a further two
carriages to make 11 in all. However, Virgin Trains asks what profit is
in that for the company if its franchise is to last only a short time.
Will the Secretary of State look at the matter afresh and realise that
if Virgin Trains is to provide two extra carriages per train at its own
expense, it will need a longer franchise period to make the operation
viable?"

Ruth Kelly (the Secretary of State) replied: "The hon. Gentleman will
understand that such negotiations are never easy and that
train-operating companies often come to the Department with requests for
extensions to their franchises. He should consider the specific request
that he mentioned in that spirit. My hon. Friend the Minister
responsible for rail assures me that he is optimistic that a deal about
the extra carriages will be done. The west coast main line will benefit
from greater train frequencies and more rolling stock as we deliver the
single biggest increase in investment since the war."