Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with GTR on the feasibility of 4 trains per hour stopping at every station along the Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City line.

Following my meeting with my Rt hon. Friend earlier this year, I wrote to Patrick Verwer, Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR’s) Chief Executive, to raise this issue with him. We would support an increase in off-peak calls along the Welwyn Garden City to Moorgate line, if they can be implemented with no cost and with no detriment to the reliability and punctuality of service across the wider network. This change is dependent on the capabilities of the Class 717 rolling stock, which GTR will be able to assess once it has been fully established in regular service. Once this assessment is complete, GTR will reconsider whether the increase in calls can be implemented with no performance or financial cost.