We are continuing to work closely with the rail industry to develop the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which includes an unprecedented £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line. In February, the Transport Secretary hosted a meeting with local leaders in North Wales to discuss how HS2 savings will be rerouted to improve rail links in Wales.

We are in the early stages of establishing the next steps for the North Wales electrification scheme, including the costs and programme for development and delivery. We will share further information when that work is complete.

Network Rail has Key Performance Indicators in its key labour contracts which measure the use of zero-hour contracts and encourages their reduction.

Under Network North, it was announced that the Oswestry to Gobowen line Restoring Your Railway scheme would progress to delivery, subject to successful business cases. Progress is being made with Network Rail and others on next steps, including on a schedule for development work and costs. The Department expects that such development work will begin in the coming months.

As part of our recent Network North announcement, the Government confirmed £350m will be made available to improve the accessibility of our train stations. We are assessing over 300 nominations for Access for All funding. At stations awarded funding this will create an obstacle free, accessible route from the station entrance to platforms. Successful nominations will be announced in due course.

The Government is reforming the railways to ensure they are fit for the 21st century. Central to this is the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR).

The legislation needed to establish Great British Railways is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny and we have published the Government’s response to the legislation consultation.

Once established, GBR will bring infrastructure, operations and strategic finance decisions together, better addressing customers whilst delivering a simpler and better railway.

In advance of legislation to establish GBR, we have reorganised DfT, creating an integrated Rail Services Group, bringing together most of Passenger Services and Rail Infrastructure Group, focussed on the day-to-day operational performance of the railway. This is part of paving the way to an integrated rail body which will put customers at the heart of decision-making.

Ministers regularly speak about rail reform and ahead of the creation of GBR, the Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT) has been created to lay the foundations for GBR while also promoting the benefits of rail reform including through the Great British Rail Sale initiative. The second Great British Rail Sale generated around £4.9m in savings for passengers, according to industry estimates, with around 580,000 tickets sold.

Ticket offices already accept multiple forms of payments including cash and some Ticket Vending Machines also accept cash. We will ensure that all passengers are able to continue to use cash to purchase tickets as work to modernise the retail and passenger experience at stations continues.

In general under the Department’s National Rail Contracts and Service Contracts, wifi quality standards are for train operators to determine. In 2020, the Department commissioned Transport Focus to undertake research of the availability and quality of internet and voice connectivity available to passengers. This provided a snapshot of the comparative performance.

The choice of mobile operator(s) – used to provide the mobile connection between the on-train wifi systems and the internet – and the coverage and technology (3G, 4G or 5G) that is available serving the rail corridor can vary considerably by individual route and region. SWR are developing superfast 5G Wi-Fi technology, which will be installed between Earlsfield and Basingstoke in 2024. This superfast trackside solution will be fully integrated with their existing on-board Wi-Fi service, delivering an enhanced connectivity solution for SWR mainline passengers.

We continue to work closely with Network Rail to improve connectivity on the rail corridor and Project Reach is a Network Rail led transaction seeking private sector investment in rail telecoms.

The Government expects electrification to play an important role in our programme to achieve our Net Zero 2050 target, which is why since 2010, more than 1,250 miles of electrification has been delivered in Great Britain, including over 900 miles in England and Wales in the last 11 years.

Alternative traction technologies, such as battery trains, will also play a key role in our approach to the decarbonisation of the rail network and our transition to net zero.

There are a number of trials by train operators involving battery technology currently underway such as those on TransPennine Express and Great Western Railway that will assess different battery and charging technologies.

New procurements where there is a demand for self-powered trains, such as Northern, will require suppliers to provide battery-electric solutions. Battery-powered trains for Transport for Wales and Merseyrail have been manufactured and are under test for operation on non-electrified parts of their routes.

The Government is reforming the railways to ensure they are fit for the 21^st century. Central to this is the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR).

The Draft Rail Reform Bill, which is needed to establish GBR, is undergoing pre legislative scrutiny. Alongside this, we are delivering for passengers, freight customers and taxpayers now, for example simplifying ticketing and fares and introducing the Rail Freight Growth Target.

Once established, GBR will bring infrastructure, operations and strategic finance decisions together, better addressing customers’ needs whilst delivering a simpler and better railway.

Funding from Network North will go to a combination of projects including additional funding to existing work, restarting important work that had previously been paused, and to new projects and schemes that are being developed, as set out in the announcement. Many schemes included in Network North have been announced, with projects due to be delivered at various times over the next decade and beyond. Further information is available on the government website. For example:

• We have already extended the £2 national bus fare cap, which will now continue to December 2024. This has been backed by further Government investment of over £200 million reallocated from HS2 Phase 2. This means that almost £600 million will have been provided to continue capping single bus fares at £2 in England outside London until the end of 2024.
• The Midlands Rail hub will now be fully funded. We are increasing investment to £1.75 billion, connecting more than 50 stations.
• In December, we also announced £8.3 billion of additional highways maintenance funding over the period 2023 to 2034 and the next 11 years for local road resurfacing and wider maintenance.
• The £4.7bn Local Transport Fund and allocations by local authority was announced on 26 February 2024, this provides transformative levels of funding for local authorities to spend on transport priorities in their areas.

The Department publishes data for all operators on the amount of compensation paid by them as a result of train delays. The total refunded to passengers for each financial year 2019/20 to 2022/23 can be found on the Government website at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/train-operating-companies-passengers-charter-compensation/train-operating-companies-passengers-charter-compensation

Since the first Safeguarding on Rail Scheme accreditation for Great Western Railway (GWR) in 2021, no rail operator has lost their accreditation.

The Government remains committed to delivering a privately financed HS2 Euston station as part of a transformed ‘Euston Quarter’ outlined in the Network North paper. The Department continues to define and develop a range of development models and financing mechanisms to best meet the objectives of the ‘Euston Quarter’. This includes consideration of options for using alternative funding to cover the section of HS2 from Old Oak Common to Euston, underpinned by contributions from those people and businesses this development supports.

Negotiations must take place between the employer, which the Rail Delivery Group has done on behalf of the train operators, and the trade union over its dispute. The Government has no role in these negotiations and discussions. We remain committed to supporting the parties in the resolution of industrial action and the Secretary of State and I have previously met with all the rail unions to help facilitate discussions with the rail industry.

We are delivering a simpler and better railway. In advance of legislation to establish Great British Railways, we have reorganised the Department of Transport with the creation of an integrated Rail Services Group. This group brings together most of the Passenger Services Group and the Rail Infrastructure Group. This single team, focussed on the day-to-day operational performance of the railway, will pave the way to an integrated rail body.

Given the complexity of the Strengthening works and the rising projected costs, Ministers are considering next steps and will make a final decision on the business case in due course.

In the meantime, my Department is continuing to work productively with both the Borough and Transport for London to ensure the eventual reopening of Hammersmith Bridge to all users, subject to cost.

The Government recognises the frustration Londoners feel due to the ongoing closure of Hammersmith Bridge, which is why we’ve provided almost £13m towards repairing and stabilising the structure, and recently announced almost £3m for a new temporary cycle way.

The Plan for Rail proposes the biggest shake-up of rail in a generation. We have already made progress on fares and ticketing reforms, for example introducing flexible season tickets, expanding single leg pricing to most of London North Eastern Railway’s (LNER) network and committing to Pay As You Go (PAYG) in urban areas across the country.

In February we announced that PAYG pilots in both Manchester and the West Midlands are due to be launched in 2025, expanding pay as you go to an additional 92 rail stations. We will also be extending contactless PAYG ticketing to 53 additional stations in the South East.

In addition, on 16 January this year, LNER began selling tickets for its two year long “Simpler Fares” pilot, for travel from 5 February. This pilot involves removing the old off-peak which led to some very quiet “peak” and very busy “off-peak” services, simplifying the fares and ticketing system to smooth out demand and reduce crowding, making travel more comfortable for passengers.

The Government is committed to supporting a thriving UK-based rolling stock industry. The Department for Transport works closely with rolling stock owners and train operators to understand when new trains are likely to be required and seeks to ensure a regular flow of work for train manufacturers. Trains are major assets with a lifetime of 35-40 years so there will naturally be peaks and troughs in procurement cycles.

Since 2012, train operators have invested in around 8,000 new vehicles for the mainline railway in Great Britain. Despite the impacts of the Covid pandemic, there is now a strong domestic UK market for rolling stock procurement. Over 2,000 new vehicles are expected to be procured over the next few years, providing £3.6 billion of opportunities for train manufacturers. Rolling stock owners also continue to invest heavily in their fleets, with several major upgrades currently underway.

In January 2024, I wrote to train manufacturers to outline the pipeline of current and expected orders for new trains. This included details of current competitions for Northern, SouthEastern, Chiltern, TransPennine Express and an expected procurement by Great Western Railway.

I met with the rail industry to discuss the delay to the upgrade timetable and how the improvements can be delivered as soon as possible.

I have made clear the importance of Network Rail continuing to develop a process for eventually delivering this timetable and realising the benefits of £4 billion investment in infrastructure and rolling stock on the route.

Performance varies across the network and is dependent on both reliable infrastructure and strong operator performance. Where we have both, as on Anglia, passengers enjoy great performance and I’m clear this is the standard for all operators to achieve working with their Network Rail route counterparts. I regularly meet Network Rail and train operators to encourage greater collaboration on day-to-day performance including convening a rail industry summit in March.

Reforming and modernising the railway is essential to delivering a more reliable rail network that is financially sustainable and improves the experience for passengers. Outdated working practices, like relying on voluntary overtime to run trains every day of the week, increases the likelihood of cancellations and prevents passengers getting the service they pay for and deserve.