The Department has been engaging with rail and aviation businesses and other interested parties to better understand their views on this scheme. This is being done as part of the work to clarify Government’s objectives for the scheme which was a recommendation of the Market Sounding Findings Report, published in December 2018.

Network Rail’s Wessex Route Study concluded that the forecast levels of growth along the line did not justify the need for additional sections of double track between London Waterloo and Yeovil.

The franchisee (SWR) is expected to plan its train service to meet forecast demand in accordance with its obligations under its franchise agreement. The franchise agreement sets a minimum train service specification that is required to be met and forms the basis for the timetable. Timetable bids for later trains than currently operate would be assessed by Network Rail against factors such as the access that they require to undertake routine planned infrastructure maintenance activities, for example.

The Government’s policy remains that rail investment decisions will be based on assessments of value for money and passenger benefits. The Government has stated that all rail enhancements will be led by the needs they are fulfilling, rather than the methods of fulfilment. We are committed to electrification where it delivers benefits for passengers and value for money – and since 2010 we have delivered 25 times more route miles of electrification than was delivered between 1997 and 2010 - while also focusing on exploitation of new technology, such as bi-mode, hydrogen and battery technology trains. We welcome any proposals on how electrification projects can be delivered more efficiently.

The Department has begun working on the recommendations of the Market Sounding Findings Report published in December 2018 which found significant market appetite for financing and delivering a Southern Rail Link to Heathrow (SRLtH) but did not find a feasible proposal able to progress without Government support. We are committed to doing this work as quickly as possible, following which we intend to set out further engagement opportunities to all interested parties.

No assessment has been made. An early lifting of the Air Traffic Movement cap at Heathrow is not Government policy.

Any proposal for the early lifting of the Air Traffic Movement cap would be subject to the planning process and would need to form part of an applicant’s development consent application.

As part of this process, the Planning Inspector would need to see that there was a proper assessment of the impacts, including a full environmental assessment, and that appropriate mitigations were in place to limit any anticipated impacts.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Eurotunnel must commit expenditure on the fixed link and the immediate surrounding environment, including Dollands Moor rail freight yard. Eurotunnel has flexibility to determine which specific projects to invest in, providing those projects comply with the obligations the Government published on 5 March, and may invest in both rail and road freight resilience. The details have been posted online here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eurotunnel-obligations-under-government-settlement-agreement/eurotunnel-obligations-under-government-settlement-agreement

A number of cross-Government working groups have been established to consider the impacts on imports into the UK after EU Exit, including steering groups with rail freight operators and terminal operators to support resilience. We have been in ongoing dialogue with these stakeholders throughout our EU Exit planning to assist their preparations.

Further work to assess the freight demand and commercial viability of reinstating the Colne-Skipton link, a project championed by Andrew Stephenson MP, the Hon Member for Pendle, will be undertaken for the Department for Transport (DfT), who will work closely with Transport for the North (TfN). No decisions have been made yet on the scope and timescale of this work.

TfN’s work on the Central Pennines Strategic Development Corridor is providing a strategic programme case for multimodal investment in this corridor. It has informed TfN’s recently published Investment Programme, which includes reinstatement of the Skipton-Colne link as a scheme. The planned DfT-led work therefore takes forward further assessment of this element of TfN’s Investment Programme.

As part of the normal course of business, feasibility studies will be carried out into various potential rail upgrade projects. The total cost of the studies carried out by Network Rail and the Department’s consultants (Steer) to assess the feasibility, costs and benefits for reinstating the Skipton-Colne line for passengers and freight, a project championed by Andrew Stephenson MP, the Hon Member for Pendle, as part of a new Trans-Pennine rail route was £210,360.

Further feasibility work to confirm whether this scheme can be made affordable, will attract sufficient traffic, and is part of the right long-term solution for trans-Pennine rail traffic will be commissioned by the Department for Transport working closely with Transport for the North. It will be funded from the Department’s existing resources. The scope and cost is yet to be determined.

We are considering a range of options, as is standard practice, for how best to enhance the current capability and capacity for cross Pennine bulk and intermodal W10/W12 gauge rail freight between a range of origins and destinations, including a new link via Colne-Skipton and upgrades to other existing routes.

During the period between 13 August 2018 (from whence a small number of Leeds services were removed from the timetable) until 1 February 2019 (Monday to Friday only), LNER operated the full timetable on the Leeds to London (both directions) route on 65 of the 123 days. This means that on the other 58, there was at least 1 cancellation of either a Leeds to London or London to Leeds service.

This represents an improvement in operating the full timetable on that route from 31% (in the previous 21 May to 10 August 2018 period) to 53%.

Additionally, the overall number of cancellations halved after implementing the timetable with planned cancellations meaning a more robust service offer for passengers. Between May and July 2018 so called TOC-on-Self cancellations (ie those cancellations within LNER’s control versus external factors) across all LNER services were averaging 89 per period, whilst cancellations between August 2018 and February 2019 were reduced to an average of 44 per period. The provision of extra resilience by implementing the pre-planned cancellations is ensuring a more robust and predictable service for passengers.

Feasibility work is still in progress. We are now pressing on with further work to make sure that the proposed scheme can be made affordable, will attract sufficient traffic, and is part of the right long-term solution for all Trans-Pennine rail traffic. We will publish when these important issues have been explored and we understand the full picture.

Current EU regulations generally prohibit passenger and freight train operators from buying from and selling to each other train paths allocated by an infrastructure manager. The circumstances are set out in Regulation 19 of the Railways (Access, Management and Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2016 (in Great Britain) and Regulation 19 of the Railways Infrastructure (Access, Management and Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (in Northern Ireland).

The study into reinstating the Skipton-Colne rail line as part of a new freight railway route between Liverpool and Yorkshire was only the first step in establishing the feasibility of the project. We are now working to assess further the freight demand and commercial viability of the scheme.

The scheme remains a candidate for subsequent progression to the next ‘develop’ stage of the Rail Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) provided the business case is made.

The Rail Delivery Group owns the report on the modernisation of rail fares, which was commissioned and developed independently of the Department. As such, they are responsible for the publication of the report.

During the period from 21 May to 10 August 2018 LNER only operated the full half-hourly weekday timetable on the Leeds to London route (in both directions) on 19 of the 60 days, with at least 1 cancellation of a Leeds to London or London to Leeds service on the other 41 days.

Following the implementation of the May 2018 timetable services on Northern, GTR and Trans Pennine Express were severely disrupted. This level of disruption also impacted East Coast services (being operated by Virgin Trains East Coast), and was the underlying cause of the worsening performance. LNER also experienced reliability issues due to the age of their rolling stock whilst they await the introduction of the Azuma Intercity Express Trains.

When LNER commenced operations on 24 June 2018, the DfT worked with the operator to give passengers more certainty of the services running. The decision was taken to remove a small number of Leeds services from 13 August 2018. This provided LNER with a spare train (for use if one breaks down) to prevent further trains being cancelled, and additional time in maintenance depots.

We are monitoring the situation closely and working with LNER to reinstate the pre-planned cancellations as quickly as possible, but sufficient resilience is not likely until there are new Azuma trains in service later this year.

The Department for Transport, Highways England and other partners continue to work closely together to develop contingency plans for traffic management in case of border disruption in Kent. Known as Operation Brock, these plans have been designed to ensure that the M20 will be kept open and traffic will continue to flow in both directions at times of cross-Channel disruption. Furthermore the Department has requested Highways England to continue to engage with all relevant Local Resilience Forums on plans for a range of circumstances in a no-deal scenario.

In addition, as part of sensible contingency planning, the Department has entered into contracts with DFDS, Brittany Ferries and Seaborne Freight which are intended to increase the available ro-ro capacity available to help maintain the flow of trade in the event of constriction of capacity on the short Straits.

The Government has also been engaging closely with a range of partners to ensure that trade can continue to move as freely as possible through the Channel Tunnel. In addition, the Government has and continues to hold discussions with interested parties, including businesses, to assess all potential options to provide additional rail freight services in the event of no deal.

Detailed plans are still being developed with the rail industry. Further announcements will be made in due course before the railcard is launched. The detail and negotiations with the rail industry will inform our estimates of likely take-up and costs associated with it.

The Government initiated and led discussions with industry regarding the possible options for providing discounted travel to young people. We will continue to work with train operating companies and the RDG to develop and implement the 16-17 railcard.