Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Directly Operational Railways has undertaken any work in relation to the East Midlands franchise in the last 12 months.

Consistent with all new franchises, the Department is required to prepare a contingency plan to maintain rail services in the event that negotiations fail. For the East Midlands Direct Award, we have engaged with Directly Operated Railways in this regard over the past 12 months.