Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating investment to enable the reopening of passenger services on the South Yorkshire Joint Railway line as part of the transport infrastructure investment programme for the Northern Powerhouse.

Through the recently launched £500m Restoring Your Railway initiative, the Department for Transport has invited MPs, local authorities and community groups across England and Wales to propose how they could use funding to support ambitions to reinstate axed local services and restore closed stations. I am happy to note that my Honourable Friend has submitted a case for funding.