Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on (a) whether any issues were identified during the testing of new Hitachi AT300 rolling stock to replace Voyager on Avanti West Coast services, (b) whether an assessment has been made of the potential effect of the lack of tilt mechanism for those trains on (i) maintaining safe operation around bends at speed, (ii) journey times and (iii) rail timetables and (c) for what reason the tender for the rolling stock replacement for Voyager on Avanti West Coast services did not specify the inclusion of a tilt mechanism.

The procurement, safety risk assessment, and safe operation of the Hitachi AT300 rolling stock is the responsibility of the operator. When running rolling stock procurements, operators take account of factors such as what products are available to the market, reliability, operating cost, passenger capacity, comfort and environmental performance. Network Rail is currently upgrading infrastructure on parts of the West Coast Main Line to allow higher speed running with non-tilting trains. The Office of Rail and Road is responsible for ensuring the new trains meet rail safety regulatory requirements before they can operate on the mainline.

The Department is looking forward to the introduction of Avanti West Coast's brand new Hitachi rolling stock later this year which will replace its current diesel fleet in line with the Department's goal to run a more sustainable railway, resulting in a 61 per cent cut in carbon emissions, as well as offering more space and a quieter journey for passengers.