Oral Answers to Questions
Neil Shastri-Hurst Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)
Officials will continue to work with Children Railways to support the delivery of its fleet renewal programme to improve passenger experience and drive sustainable growth across the region. Chiltern is exploring options to expedite its procurement of additional trains while following robust assurance steps to ensure that it has a strong business case that delivers value for money for the taxpayer.
Dr Shastri-Hurst
Chiltern Railways has the oldest fleet of any operator at over 30 years of age, and additional capacity is needed to meet the demands of my constituents in Solihull West and Shirley. While I welcome the Department’s commitment to reducing overcrowding by moving more rolling stock to where it is needed in the network, can the Minister expand on the specific steps the Department is taking to reduce overcrowding on the Chiltern main line?
Simon Lightwood
Chiltern’s business case assesses both like-for-like and enhanced capacity rolling stock options. Like-for-like offers similar capacity to the current fleet but more modern trains to deliver a better customer proposition. Enhanced capacity would enable Chiltern to run more services to relieve crowding. Both options are still under consideration ahead of further market engagement. A final decision will be made taking into consideration value for money and affordability.