REMOVAL OF EAST ANGLIA RAILWAY RESTAURANT CARS

That this House deplores the announcement by National Express East Anglia that it is to discontinue its award-winning restaurant car service on the main line route between London and Norwich via Colchester as part of a package involving the loss of more than 300 jobs in different parts of the railway company's operations; notes that for three consecutive years the nine restaurant cars have been voted by Rail Magazine as the best in the UK, serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner every weekday, using freshly-cooked ingredients from local farms; further notes that National Express recently announced that its rail profits in East Anglia had increased by six per cent. this year and that it will be raising rail fares by six per cent. in the New Year; and calls on the Government to enforce the retention of the restaurant car service in accordance with what National Express set out in its application to operate the rail franchise in East Anglia.