Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the decision making criteria are for applications to the Stations Fund for Ellesmere Port and Neston.

The aim of the New Stations Fund (NSF) is to open new and restored stations across England and Wales. Funding is distributed through a competition and the full eligibility criteria are available on the Network Rail website:

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/passengers/station-improvements/new-stations-fund/

There are a number of other station improvement funds available that could potentially be drawn on by train operating companies through their franchise agreement, such as the Minor Works budget.