Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how he expects High Speed 2 to reduce overcrowding at London Waterloo.

High Speed 2 is not intended to reduce overcrowding at London Waterloo, as it has been designed as a link between London Euston, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.

The 2012 Rail Investment Strategy (HLOS) has asked the industry to provide additional peak capacity for 9,700 extra passengers into Waterloo by 2019 and has provided funding for Network Rail to expand Waterloo and other stations. Network Rail and South West Trains have set out plans to lengthen peak trains and South West Trains is now in discussions with the Department for Transport.