Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2021 to Question 130811 on Railways: Fares, what the cost to the public purse is of keeping trains running during the covid-19 outbreak.

When COVID-19 hit, we took emergency action to keep the trains running by temporarily transitioning train operators onto Emergency Measures Agreements under which the Government bears nearly all financial risks on both costs and revenues.

This swift intervention has ensured key rail services have continued to run for those who rely on them, despite passenger numbers having fallen very significantly as a result of the pandemic.

In September 2020, we renewed that support with new agreements, called Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements (ERMAs), to support the UK recovery and continue the fight against the pandemic. These agreements run for up to 18 months.

Total payments made to all train operating companies under franchise contracts with the Department (including those in public ownership) from 1 March 2020 to 20 September 2020 was £4.07 billion. Full payment data for this period has been published on the Government website, GOV.UK, and we will continue to release periodic updates there in future.

At the Public Accounts Committee on 15 October 2020, the Department’s Permanent Secretary estimated that the total cost of this support for the 2020/21 financial year will be between £7 billion and £9 billion for train operating companies under franchise contracts with the Department.