I maintain regular engagement with Great Western Railway on operational performance matters, including service reliability, disruption management and passenger experience. The Department holds the operator to account for meeting its contractual obligations, including addressing reliability issues and managing passenger crowding where services are disrupted or demand is high. Great Western Railway’s transfer into public ownership on 13 December 2026 will further enable improvements in reliability, performance, accountability, and the overall customer experience.

Department for Transport Operator (DFTO) typically monitors levels of short formations at an operator level every four weeks and therefore is not able to provide data for each route.

DFTO expects operators to provide appropriate capacity in response to expected demand, particularly during peak periods, and to minimise short formations wherever possible, only using them where this is judged to be in passengers' overall interests and helps maintain wider service delivery. DFTO holds operators to account for short-formed services.

The Department for Transport publishes annual national statistics on rail passenger numbers arriving into selected major cities during peak-times in England and Wales, which includes information on crowding. The most recent release can be found here: Rail passenger numbers and crowding on weekdays in major cities in England and Wales - GOV.UK

The Department expects train operators to plan and operate appropriate capacity in response to expected demand. Department for Transport Operator works with train operating companies to consider measures to address crowding, for example strengthening services where rolling stock allows, adjusting peak timetables, increasing staff presence on platforms and improving queue and passenger flow management at busy stations.

DFT Operator (DFTO) holds routine discussions with Northern on matters of performance, which will include capacity issues such as short-forming. DFTO expects all operators to introduce appropriate measures in response to expected demand and holds operators to account for short-formed services.

The Department does not collect this data centrally.

Southeastern (SET) have plans to improve services, increase capacity and reduce crowding to/from Maidstone East from May 2026. These include the reintroduction of Mainline services to London Blackfriars at peak times from Maidstone East; additional services between Charing Cross and Maidstone East on weekdays; and more off-peak services between London Victoria and Ashford International via Maidstone East.

SET are also exploring further options for the December 2026 timetable.

SET are always exploring the possibility of providing extra capacity where needed. This is not always feasible due to a variety of reasons, including platform lengths, rolling stock availability and funding considerations.

The Department approved and funded the use of 12 additional trains (60 extra carriages) for the CrossCountry network. These additional trains were introduced in May 2025 and have increased the Inter-City train fleet substantially and enabled CrossCountry to add thousands of seats each week to its Inter-City network. West Yorkshire is likely to see a direct benefit from this, depending on the daily operational needs of the operator.

Northern has begun discussions with train manufacturers to procure around 250 new train sets to replace the oldest trains in its fleet. Approximately two-thirds of its existing fleet is targeted to be replaced in the next 10 years.

TransPennine Trains is currently in a live procurement, which is seeking to purchase a core order of 29 units. These trains will seek to realise benefits from the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme and support an increase in seats on journeys between York to Leeds; Leeds to Huddersfield; Huddersfield to Manchester Victoria and; Huddersfield to Manchester Piccadilly.

London North Eastern Railway have added 60,000 extra seats across the route each week through their transformational timetable change in December 2025 and plan to add more capacity in the future by replacing its 7-car InterCity 225 trains with new 10-car 897 trains.

The Department does not hold information on seating capacity on all routes operated by London North Eastern Railway in each of the last 12 months, broken down by month.

Great British Railways will have a duty to promote high standards of performance, and will be relentless in delivering for passengers, freight customers and taxpayers across the country. If passengers encounter any issues, they will be able to raise these with GBR in the first instance. The Passenger Watchdog will ensure all passengers have access to a fair and independent alternative dispute resolution service (the Rail Ombudsman) to resolve disputes with operators where passengers have been let down.

For the first time, we have made station-specific performance information available to passengers. This shows reliability and punctuality at each station, rather than aggregated averages by operator or region. Providing this transparency allows the public to hold us to account and will help rebuild trust as we tackle the root causes of delays and cancellations.

Great Western Railway (GWR) is responsible for the safe operation of its train services at all times, including during times of disruption or following engineering overrun. GWR is also responsible for ensuring deployment of its train fleet to best match demand, but despite this trains can still become very busy at certain peak times or during disruption. Whilst crowded trains can be uncomfortable, they are not necessarily unsafe.

The Department monitors train loadings carefully and continues to hold GWR to account against its contractual obligations as the Public Ownership Programme continues. This includes ensuring GWR is appropriately deploying its train fleet and working collaboratively with Network Rail to develop robust plans to support engineering work including mitigations plans for restoring service in the event of an overrun.

GWR has experienced an increase in short formations on services across its intercity train fleet in recent periods due to issues with diesel engines. These issues have now stabilised, with a noticeable reduction in recent weeks, and the department continues to monitor this closely.

I welcome the fact that CrossCountry has increased calls at Water Orton, although I know that many commuters find that there is still standing room only on those peak services. Some changes can be made to help; for example, the capacity for standard-class passengers was increased by removing a dedicated first-class area on CrossCountry’s Class 170 trains. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to advance the issue further.

Constituents who responded to my commuter survey made it clear that the rail service from Coleshill and Water Orton to Birmingham is just not good enough. I called for CrossCountry to reinstate its 7.35 train from Water Orton and to introduce a new later service, and I am delighted that this has been done, but overcrowding is still a problem. Does the Minister agree that urgent action must be taken to improve the capacity of the route so that my constituents can travel to and from Birmingham reliably and comfortably?

Euston station was designed for a different era and we acknowledge that it needs major investment and modernisation. For the majority of the time the station works, however during times of major disruption, there simply isn’t enough room for passengers and we know this can make for an uncomfortable and unpleasant environment.

Network Rail is developing plans for a major upgrade to London Euston station. Making the best use of tax-payer money, we will deliver a brand-new station concourse that’s fit for the future, and offers much better facilities to passengers. Network Rail continue to work with partners to ensure the upgraded station integrates with the new HS2 station, provides enhancements to wider local transport facilities and offers new homes, community, office and retail spaces.

Ahead of this, the Journey to a Better Euston programme is helping to improve passenger experience, reduce congestion, and enhance the provision of travel information in the short term. Building on improvements delivered over the last 12 months, which included displaying train and customer information on the station's large screen and upgrading the toilets, further plans include:

• Establishing a Customer Information Hub to provide clearer and more timely updates to passengers.
• Upgrading the Assisted Travel Lounge and refurbishing mezzanine seating to improve comfort and accessibility.
• Implementing an enhanced retail strategy and introducing a new multi-faith room to create a more inclusive environment.
• Improving visibility and clarity of travel information screens, alongside concourse adjustments to maximise space for passengers.
• Launching the Team Euston Service Academy to strengthen staff capability and collaboration across industry partners.

These measures are designed to improve advance notice of services, alleviate overcrowding, and deliver a better overall experience for all users of London Euston station.

In March this year, we made station-specific performance information available to passengers for the first time. This shows reliability and punctuality at each station. GBR will be transparent in the operation of its passenger services. It will be for GBR, through its integrated business plan, which will be signed off by the Transport Secretary, to develop a view on how its key performance indicators are expressed. These will then be tested by the Office of Rail and Road. The Office of Rail and Road will have a role in monitoring GBR's performance and advising the Transport Secretary.

We are aware this service is the eighth busiest in the country. The Department are supporting South Western Railway (SWR) to reduce overcrowding. Once the new Arterio train fleet have been introduced on the SWR suburban network, SWR will have the opportunity to review the timetable to better match capacity to demand and also re-deploy trains onto London Waterloo to Woking/Portsmouth Harbour services.

The Department receives regular information on how busy CrossCountry train services are, but not in the format requested. However, since the May timetable change, average loadings across the CrossCountry network have been broadly similar to those seen in 2019 and 2024.

The Department has funded 12 additional Voyager trains (60 carriages) for the CrossCountry network. The last of these entered service from May enabling the operator to offer thousands more seats each day.

Chiltern Railways periodically adjust their timetable in response to passenger demand. From the 18th May, Chiltern will introduce three new Saturday services between Banbury and London Marylebone.

We are engaging closely with Chiltern's fleet renewal programme seeking to procure additional trains to increase capacity, whilst ensuring it delivers value for money.

The Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline portfolio contains some of the most transformative and important programmes in the country such as the TransPennine Route Upgrade, which will increase capacity and improve reliability of East to West rail lines in the north of England.

The Department has been clear that rail services have been failing passengers. Cancellations are at a ten-year high and punctuality is inconsistent across the network. We need to improve services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.

The Rail Minister is meeting with the Managing Directors of all train operators and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.

Publicly-owned Great British Railways will end years of fragmentation – bringing together track and train to deliver for passengers with more reliable, better-quality services and simpler ticketing and fares

The Department holds operators to account on their service offer, ensuring they provide capacity where it is most needed, whilst maintaining performance and protecting the public purse.