Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mary Glindon and Lord Grayling

Thursday 13th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) (Lab)]

T4. Will the Minster say whether the new rolling stock for Merseytravel, HS2 and Crossrail will be procured using private or public finance, and why that is the case?

[Chris Grayling]

There has been a long tradition, under Governments of both parties, of a railway where we lease trains from the private sector. There have equally been occasions, as in the procurement of railway carriages for the east coast main line and the great western main line, when the Government have stepped in and taken that decision. We will have to look at which packages are available for those individual schemes. In the case of Merseytravel, the hon. Lady will have to talk to the Labour-controlled Merseyside councils.