Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of determining the sequencing of when train operating companies will be brought into public ownership by their operational performance.

The Government has been clear that passenger train operations will transfer to a public-sector operator as current contracts end or reach their contractual break point, avoiding the need to pay compensation to the current operators. The Secretary of State is considering the timing of the transfer of services under each contract and is continually monitoring performance. She will not hesitate to take appropriate action when operators fall short, up to and including termination if the relevant contractual conditions are met.