Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his contribution in the House of 16 July 2015 in response to the hon. Member for Colne Valley, what restriction will prevent the next operator of the Northern franchise from running refurbished London Underground trains on routes previously served by Pacers.

In addition to requiring the withdrawal of the Pacers and a minimum of 120 new carriages, the specification for the future Northern franchise requires a transformation of the Northern train fleet to achieve ambitious targets to improve passenger satisfaction.　 It also requires trains that passengers will perceive as being "thoroughly modern, comfortable and comparable to new or nearly-new rolling stock".　 It is for bidders to propose rolling stock solutions that will achieve these demanding requirements.