My work as your Member of Parliament this year has given me the chance
to see the constituency from many different angles, including going
underground and on the water; so I was delighted last Friday to have
the chance to land an airplane at Lydd, alongside the airport’s
managing director Hani Mutlaq. Thankfully for all concerned this was
only on the very realistic simulator in the flying school. 2012 will
be a big year for Lydd Airport, with the expected result of the public
inquiry into its controlled expansion, but also the prospect of the
Olympic Games bringing-in more business. Lydd is expected to be busy
with private flights and the visits of international dignitaries for
the games. With this in mind the airport is proposing to run a shuttle
bus service to and from Ashford International rail station, where
people will be able to get the fast train to the Olympic park in just
over 30 minutes. The good news is that the airport is considering
offering this service to local residents and other visitors to the
area. This could also be a useful offer for many of the Romney Marsh
businesses who will be offering accommodation for visitors to the
games. I would like to congratulate Lydd Airport on this excellent
initiative.
Drivers who use the A20 Roundhill Tunnel viaduct will have been
pleased to note that the repair works have now been completed by the
Highways Agency in time for the Christmas and New Year holiday
traffic. After the initial frustration at the time it was taking for
this work to be started, I am pleased that it has been completed ahead
of schedule. The two new custom made joints for the viaduct each
weight five tonnes and are expected to last 30 years.
So far this winter we have missed out on the snow we experienced last
December, but it’s important that good preparations are in place for
when it comes, to minimise the disruption. Southeastern Trains and
Kent County Council have announced new measures to help keep stations
safe and open in the snow and also to clear the tracks. This includes
fitting 20 Southeastern 375 electrostar trains with de-icing tanks.
These are the trains that operate the non-high speed service in Kent,
and which were unable to run in last year’s snow. Southeastern are
also making 16 motorised snow clearance vehicles available for larger
stations and depots. There was considerable criticism about the lack
of information for customers when the service is disrupted and to
overcome this a new public announcement system is being installed at
many stations enabling platform announcements to be made directly from
the joint Network Rail/Southeastern control room. They have even
launched a new Twitter data feed for the latest news which you can
follow @Se_Railway.
Whether you are staying at home or travelling to be with friends and
family this Christmas, I would like to send you all the best wishes
for the season. In particular, I would like to remember everyone one
who will be working and away from their loved ones in our armed
forces, hospitals, emergency services and on the transport network