Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to further extend the Southeastern Railway franchise.

The South Eastern franchise competition is currently in the evaluation phase. The Department is working to achieve the best possible outcome for passengers and taxpayers. An announcement will be made in due course.

As the Secretary of State announced on 10 April 2019, the Department for Transport is currently in discussions with the incumbent operator to extend their operation of the franchise to 10 November 2019, with an extension period up to 1 April 2020 called at the Secretary of State’s discretion.