Oral Answers to Questions

Jeff Smith Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jeff Smith (Manchester Withington) (Lab)]

17. What steps she is taking to improve passenger rail performance.

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

21. What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of passenger rail performance.

--- Later in debate ---

[Keir Mather]

My hon. Friend is a champion for her constituents and their right to get to where they need to. We are pressing Network Rail and Great Western Railway to improve reliability, which has at times fallen below expectations in recent periods, partly due to recent flooding issues. We expect Network Rail and Great Western Railway to work together to resolve these issues on this most critical route.

[Jeff Smith]

My constituents in Manchester are left constantly frustrated by delays and cancellations, not just on the west coast main line, which you know all about, Mr Speaker, but on our east-west routes, and on services all around Manchester. What are the Government doing, alongside partners, to drive improvements in services to our Manchester stations?

[Keir Mather]

My hon. Friend is championing the right of his constituents to use the train to get to where they need to. Alongside local stakeholders, the DFT created the Manchester taskforce in 2020 to identify solutions to performance problems throughout the city. The December 2023 timetable has delivered improvements in reliability of around 30%, and new infrastructure may enable more services to be introduced. My hon. Friend is fighting hard for his constituents on this issue, and I hope that my answer reassures him that we are moving in the right direction, but if he has any remaining questions or concerns, I encourage him to write to me.