Rory has welcomed news that the Department for Transport have agreed an extension of the existing franchise with West Coast Trains and Virgin Rail Group from April 2012 until the start of the new franchise, significantly improving services on the West Coast Main Line and bringing good news for Cumbria’s economy.

Rory said: “This is fantastic news for all who travel up the West Coast, and in particular for the north Lakes region. Penrith is always a busy station, and is clearly a thriving stop-off point on the West Coast. This eight-month extension of the franchise enables train operators to increase the number of Pendolino trains on the track, and the lengthening of the trains from 9 to 11 carriages means that there will be far less overcrowding of standard-class seating, meaning that more visitors can comfortably travel to appreciate our wonderful part of Cumbria. This will be a real boost to the local economy and tourism industry.“

Rory has also lobbied the Minister of State, Theresa Villiers, to include in the franchise tendering document a commitment to significant upgrading of current platform access at Penrith station, arguing that the existing barrow-crossing is of danger to those who have no option but to use it.

He said: “Increased traffic through Penrith means that we must address the issue of access between platforms 1 and 2. The new franchise presents an excellent opportunity for us to request that bidders commit to upgrading Penrith Station in order to have lift or ramp access to platform 2. The barrow-crossing is not adequate, and can be dangerous. I will continue to lobby Ministers to ensure that this commitment is included in the tendering documents for the next franchise that will be released early in 2012. I encourage anyone who agrees with me to contact the Minister to express their views also.”

Over the course of the extension, three new 600-seat Pendolino trains will be added to the line, in addition to the new Pendolino which entered service in July 2011. It has also been announced that 31 of the existing Pendolino trains will be lengthened from 9 to 11 carriages, increasing the number of standard-class seats on each train by almost 50% from 320 to 470. In all, 106 new carriages are being introduced on the route, making 28,000 extra seats available each day, an increase of 25%.

Minister of State for Transport Theresa Villiers said: “This will relieve crowding on some of the busiest parts of the West Coast Main Line, which is one of the UK economy’s most important transport corridors.

Rory, on Tuesday evening welcomed some of Cumbria’s graduates of the National Citizens’ Service programme to Westminster to congratulate them on their hard work this Summer, and to discuss their pivotal role in helping to make the Government’s pilot initiative such a resounding success.

Rory welcomed graduates Isla Cooke (QEGS), Rachel Dodd (Trinity Carlisle), Megan Downes and Katie Storey (both of Ullswater Community College), and Youth Support Workers from Connexions Cumbria Erica Blagg and Lynne Hullock to Portcullis House and chatted with them about their experiences over the Summer. The graduates were in London for a celebration party hosted by the Cabinet Office and Orange Rock Corps to celebrate the fact that 8,500 young people across Britain participated in NCS this year, and on the back of the pilot’s success this number will increase to 30,000 in 2012 and – it is hoped – 90,000 by 2014.

Rory said: “Cumbria should be rightly proud of the role it has played in making NCS such a success; the Prime Minister himself visited the programme earlier this year on what was an extraordinary day. This is a scheme that has at its heart a sense of duty and pride in the community. I pushed very hard for Cumbria to be a national rural pilot, and a sign of its success is the plans to increase the number of participants next year. This is wonderful news. Many detractors say that this might be a waste of money, and that is par for the course with any new initiative: these young people have obviously had a really exciting, fulfilling time. This is an excellent project to have been involved in, and I’m very proud of it. I’d like to congratulate all young Cumbrians who graduated from NCS this year – thank you for making it such a success.”

In Cumbria, Connexions Cumbria – in partnership with the Outward Bound Trust – ran forty groups during the Summer, in which over 400 young Cumbrians took part. Participants delivered over 10,500 hours of social action across Cumbria, and will be expanding the scheme in 2012.

Pete Alger of Connexions Cumbria said: “We loved it! It was challenging but great to do and the feedback from young people and parents has been excellent.”

Rory has asked government Ministers what steps are being taken to enable older people living in rural areas to remain in their own homes as they grow older, in a show of support for Age UK’s ‘Over the Hill’ campaign, which aims to highlight the challenges faced by older people in rural areas and focuses on some ground-breaking approaches that have been introduced across England to deal with them.

Rory is concerned that older people living in rural Cumbria are included in local decision-making and initiatives that affect them, and will this Winter be supporting practical initiatives that highlight the very severe needs of the elderly living in rural locations: he will help to launch Cumbria Community Foundation’s ‘Winter Warmth Appeal’ next week, and the Abbeyfield Society’s ‘Companionship at Christmas’ initiative running in Wigton over Christmas this year, where free overnight stays and delicious lunches will be offered to older people who would otherwise be alone over the festive season.

Rory said: “In Parliament, I am constantly arguing the case for Cumbria and fighting for recognition of the unique challenges we face here – challenges that are magnified when you are elderly and living in an extremely rural location. The Over the Hill campaign is very important in highlighting issues of sparsity and lack of access to services, as well as the serious problems of loneliness and isolation. Retaining their independence and ability to remain living at home are what the majority of older people hope for, but we need to do more to support this wish. I am delighted to be supporting this campaign.”

In response to Rory’s lobbying, Minister Andrew Stunnell – who visited Crosby Ravensworth earlier this year to look at its affordable housing scheme – said: “Government is committed to supporting older people to live independently at home. We have protected funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant, which delivers adaptations that enable disabled people to live comfortably and independently in their homes – and the budget will increase from £169 million in 2010-11 to £185 million in 2014-15. We are also investing £1.5 million in the FirstStop information and advice service, which aims to help older people make informed decisions about their housing, care and support options, and to help them maintain independent living in later life. The Goverment has also provided £51 million funding for HandyPersons schemes over the spending review period to deliver small home repairs and adaptations.”