Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her department has instructed Thameslink to recruit more train drivers since 4 July 2024.

Since July 2024, the Department has continued to press Govia Thameslink Railway to deliver its on-going train driver recruitment programme which will increase Thameslink drivers by nearly 100 (circa 8 per cent). Training new drivers typically takes around 18 months. There are over 30 new drivers set to qualify this year.