Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of East and West Coast Mainline closures on 18 and 19 February on freight moved by rail.

Network Rail aims to minimise the impact on passenger and freight services and in this case is able to maintain an Anglo-Scot route despite the parallel East Coast Mainline and West Coast Mainline closures. Rail passengers can still travel, albeit with extended journey times and the need to change, and freight volumes are generally lower on Saturdays than on weekdays and very low on Sundays. Network Rail considered moving the timing of one of the pieces of work, but assessed that this would cause more disruption for passengers and freight customers.