Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding opportunities he plans to make available for investment in rail and light rail improvements.

As part of the Spending Round in 2020 over £2 billion of funding has been confirmed in 2021-22 for rail services, which builds on the estimated £12.8 billion of support for transport services that the government has already committed to provide in 2020-21.

As part of the levelling-up agenda, the Government announced in January 2020 that it has pledged £500 million for the Restoring Your Railway Programme to start reopening lines and stations, regenerating local economies and improving access to jobs, homes and education.

Between 2019 and 2024, approximately £38 billion has been allocated for investment in operations, maintenance and renewals of the rail network, of which around £20 billion is for Network Rail’s renewals programme.

To date, the Government has announced over £150 million of emergency grant funding to support the Light Rail sector. This funding has ensured that light rail services continue to run throughout the pandemic, enabling essential journeys such as those made by NHS staff and other key workers.

As announced in the 2020 Budget and confirmed in the Spending Review, the government is investing £4.2 billion in the transport networks of eight city regions across England from 2022, including Greater Manchester. These intra-city transport settlements will be based on plans put forward by city regions and could be used to fund light rail improvements.

In addition, the Transforming Cities Fund is a £2.5 billion fund focused on public and sustainable transport infrastructure. It is currently providing funding for light rail improvements in some cities, including Greater Manchester.