Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has for the (a) future and (b) timetable for nationalisation of the Greater Anglia rail franchise; for (i) future investment and (ii) plans for (A) ticket offices and (B) steps free access in Greater Anglia railway station redevelopment; and for (1) overall investment, (2) rail fares, (3) investment in rail infrastructure, and (4) investment in rolling stock in the Greater Anglia region; and what recent estimate she has made of passenger numbers in each Greater Anglia station in each year for the next ten years.

The Department announced in December that South-Western Railway’s services will be the first to transfer into public ownership in May 2025, followed by c2c’s services in July 2025 and Greater Anglia’s in the autumn. The Department will issue an expiry notice to Greater Anglia in due course to confirm the exact transfer date. Public ownership will mean all parts of the railway can pull together for the benefit of passengers, and bringing passenger services into public ownership is the first step in the Government’s wider programme of reform. Through future legislation, we will set out the role Great British Railways will have in fares, ticketing, and other operational aspects of the railway. Fares and ticketing will continue to be the responsibility of train operators until Great British Railways is established.

The Access for All programme has delivered step free access at more than 250 stations across Britain. Ministers are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme, including as it relates to Greater Anglia stations. Greater Anglia has taken steps to improve station accessibility with its work on virtual trains and station tours, and a new accessible footbridge will be installed at Stowmarket during 2025. The business planning round for 2025/26 is currently underway and proposals regarding redevelopments and rail infrastructure will be reviewed with decisions made in due course.

Greater Anglia invested £1.4 billion in new trains for the Anglia region and these new trains are delivering a real change in customer experience.

There has not been a recent estimate of passenger numbers in each of Greater Anglia’s stations in each year for the next ten years.