Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to connect Nottingham with rural parts of Nottinghamshire via the restoration of the Maid Marian Line.

The bid to progress the case for reopening the Maid Marian line to passenger services was unsuccessful as part of the Restoring Your Railway programme. However, the Government recognises the potential benefits of restoration of the Maid Marian Line and will therefore take the case under consideration as part of the Toton Study.

This study, which was established following the publication of the IRP, will assess accelerating transport improvements at Toton, such as a station for local or regional services. It will also include looking at the synergies and combined business case for proposals to reopen the Maid Marian line to passenger services.