Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to (a) improve rail capacity and (b) reduce railway-related emissions in the East Midlands.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) will introduce new bi-mode Class 810 Intercity ‘Aurora’ trains with a phased rollout running through 2026. These new trains will support greener travel making use of the Midlands Main Line electrification between London and Leicester, significantly reducing emissions compared to the diesel Class 222 trains they replace. When fully operational the Class 810 trains will provide a 46 per cent increase in capacity to passengers through a combination of more seats and train carriages.