Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to (a) allow multiple train operating companies to operate on each rail line and (b) take other steps to help increase competition on regional lines.

We recognise that competition can be beneficial for passengers as it can drive innovation and improvements to services. We have been clear that, in the right circumstances, open access operators can play a role in increasing this competition and have supported recent applications such as Wrexham, Shropshire & Midland Railway’s application to operate services for customers in North Wales, the West Midlands and on the West Coast Mainline.