Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of bringing train leasing companies into public ownership, including to achieve a fair price for leasing rolling stock.

Rolling stock companies own and lease trains and carriages worth billions of pounds. It would not be responsible for the Government to take on the cost of renationalising all the rolling stock at the present time, as there are other urgent pressures on the public purse and we need to focus on wider rail reform.

We recognise the value that the private sector can bring, including funding improved trains and infrastructure. But we must secure much better value from the rolling stock market in future – which is why for the first time in over 30 years, the Government is developing a long-term rolling stock and infrastructure strategy. We expect to publish this strategy later in 2026.