Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average length of time taken to process Network Rail enhancement project applications since the announcement of increased funding for HS2.

Individual enhancement schemes are assessed on their alignment with Government priorities, the strength of their business case, and their affordability. Schemes seeking funding from the Department for Transport need to progress through the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) decision gateways before moving into delivery.

Detail on the decision gateways is set out in the March 2018 RNEP publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rail-network-enhancements-pipeline.

This process has not been affected by decisions on HS2 funding and no decisions on Network Rail enhancement projects have been delayed because of the announcement on the 9 March.