Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2016 to Question 39519, what the whole life cost of the East Coast Main Line Intercity Express fleet is; and how much of that cost will be met by funding from his Department.

Whole life costs of the East Coast Main Line fleet are part of the £2.7bn investment for the Intercity Express Programme East Coast which includes the design, finance and maintenance of the rolling stock and maintenance facilities over the 27.5 year term. It is not possible to break this cost down further.

The Departments costs in support of this investment are supported through funding of infrastructure enhancements and agreement in the East Coast Franchise Agreements to ensure the benefits of the IEP trains are delivered.