Rail passengers on a struggling south-west line are being left “waiting for a pumpkin”, as MPs warned that housing growth risks outpacing creaking infrastructure.
Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate on local transport and planning developments on Tuesday, February 24, Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord said the West of England rail line was among the most under-invested in the country and not fit to underpin major new housing schemes.
Richard Foord, Liberal Democrat MP for Honiton and Sidmouth, said: “The West of England rail line runs from Exeter to London Waterloo via Feniton, Honiton and Axminster. Network Rail describes the line from Exeter to Basingstoke as ‘one of the worst-performing single-track sections nationally’.
“It is one of the most under-invested lines in England. In this place, it is a cliché to talk about a Cinderella service, but trains serving residents on the West of England line do provide a Cinderella service – in fact, people stood waiting for a South Western Railway carriage to travel from Feniton, Honiton or Axminster may wonder if they are waiting for a pumpkin.”
Citing the Salisbury to Exeter rail user group, he said the section between Salisbury and Yeovil Junction operates at 88% capacity, “well in excess of the 80% threshold needed for resilience”.
Richard told MPs that between August and November last year the service “ground to a painfully slow pace during dry weather because of a so-called soil moisture deficit”. During that period, the entire line was served by just one train every two hours and, when journeys were cancelled, passengers were left waiting “for upwards of four hours”.
He said the situation was particularly concerning given proposed housing developments in Devon. Exeter is the fastest-growing city in England by population, and more than 1,100 houses are to be built across east Devon in each of the next five years under Government housing targets. A new town, Marlcombe, is projected for the 2030s with 10,000 homes over the long term.
Richard also raised concerns about proposed changes to the national planning policy framework. He said that developments within 15 minutes of railway stations could be given a “default yes” to promote house building in travel-to-work areas.
“New housing developments surely cannot be justified in this way when the rail infrastructure is substandard,” he said, adding that residents in Feniton, Honiton, Axminster and Cullompton had significant concerns.
He pointed to a six-point plan from the Salisbury to Exeter rail user group, agreed by stakeholders including South Western Railway, Network Rail, Great Western Railway and Devon county council. The proposals include new rolling stock and power sources, signalling upgrades, double track and passing loops at Whimple and Tisbury. However, he said, “the funding is missing”.
Quoting the Rail Minister’s remarks on the “Green Signals” podcast that “connectivity drives growth, jobs and homes”, Richard said: “He is right, but without investment and improvement the West of England line will not have that connectivity. In the absence of that investment, the line cannot be the basis on which new housing is justified. The message from people I represent is plain: ‘Infrastructure first, please.’”
Responding to the debate, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport thanked MPs for their contributions and said aligning housing and transport was “essential for delivering homes that are connected and sustainable”.
The minister said the Government had prioritised changes to the planning system to support growth and place-making, including revisions to the national planning policy framework and the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025.
The Act places a duty on combined authorities and councils to prepare spatial development strategies, which will set the context for local plans. The minister said the changes would help deliver “more housing, greater transport choices and better designed, healthier places”.
The Government had also launched a connectivity tool bringing together transport and land use data to help identify infrastructure gaps and plan development sustainably.
In parallel, the Railways Bill will establish Great British Railways as a directing mind for the network, with an objective to facilitate homebuilding and place-making. The minister said the body would work with mayoral strategic authorities and focus on local priorities such as housing and regeneration.
She added that Platform4, launched in November 2025, is working to develop disused brownfield land with an ambition to deliver 40,000 homes over the coming decade.
Addressing concerns about congestion, the minister said National Highways is a statutory consultee on planning applications and can recommend refusal where developments would have a substantial impact on the strategic road network.
On bus funding, she said £3 billion in multi-year funding would support services across the country. Hertfordshire county council will receive £34.1 million under the local authority bus grant from 2026-27 to 2028-29, in addition to £12.2 million already allocated.
The minister also said the Government had inherited a housing crisis, with 1.3 million families on waiting lists and more than 165,000 children in temporary accommodation. A new £39 billion social and affordable housing programme aims to build around 300,000 homes over 10 years, including at least 60% for social rent.
Concluding, she said integrating transport and housing was critical and that the reforms represented a “meaningful re-gearing” of transport and spatial planning systems to address the housing crisis while delivering the transport communities need.
