Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential financial savings that would be incurred in his consultation document on TransPennine and Northern Rail franchises were implemented without change.

The Department for Transport is currently conducting a joint public consultation with Rail North which will inform the specifications for both the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. The consultation can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises and concludes 18th August.

No estimates of the potential financial savings have yet been completed for any of the options set out in the consultation. Further work will be carried out, informed by the consultation, before any decisions are taken.