Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he will take help improve rail freight capacity.

Government continues to explore improving rail freight capacity across the network. We remain committed to publishing the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) update, and we have also taken steps to improve rail freight capacity by increasing the number of train paths available from and to Felixstowe Port. There have also been a range of longer and heavier freight trains which have been authorised to run on the network. In addition, we have also committed to introducing a rail freight growth target, which will reflect the sectors own business growth ambitions.

There have, in recent months, been a range of new rail freight services launched; from Liverpool and Immingham Ports and from Doncaster to Mossend.