Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2015 to Question 7811, if he will update the table provided in that Answer to include figures for 2014-15 and 2015-16.

The Department continues to forecast significant growth in use of rail and is constantly considering proposals for new investment which represent best value of money for the taxpayer.

We are fully committed to investing in the north as part of our ambitious plans to build a Northern Powerhouse. That is why we are spending £13billion improving the region’s transport, reversing decades of underinvestment, providing better journeys and securing long-term economic growth. We are investing £22 million in improving Newcastle station and its surrounding areas, and in the next few years passengers will see improvements including more services, more capacity and the scrapping of Pacers, as well as a fleet of state-of-the-art new trains for the East Coast Mainline

We are significantly investing in the West and South West of England, including electrifying the Great Western Main Line between London, Oxford, Newbury and Bristol by 2016, and extending this to Cardiff by 2017. Brand new ‘Super Express’ trains will be introduced as part of the Intercity Express Programme providing a fleet of new electric and bi-mode trains for services between London, the south west and Wales from 2016/17. In the south west, capacity improvements have been proposed around Bristol and at Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway stations.

The step change seen in London spending last year is due to increased spending on London Underground, Crossrail and HS2 plus some increase in the Network Grant. This investment is needed to meet the ever increasing demand for passenger journeys into London, of which there are currently about 4 billion every year.

The most recent government expenditure on rail is shown in the table below. Figures for 15/16 are not currently available and will be published in November 2016.