Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons East-West Rail passenger services have not yet commenced.

The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to confirm a start date for the first East-West Rail services between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Winslow. For passenger services to commence, trains will need to have been modified and fully tested, future staffing arrangements be put in place and driver training will need to have been completed.