Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with Lancashire County Council and district councils in Fylde and Wyre on the design and delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will deliver turn up and go railway services between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York. The economic rationale for NPR is to enable these areas to function as a single high productivity growth corridor. The Government has worked closely with local leaders in these areas and will continue to do so in taking the design and delivery of NPR forward.

The Government will still consider future rail improvement schemes more widely for areas such as Lancashire, for example through the future rail network enhancement programme, and it will engage with local leaders and Members on their priorities in the normal way.