Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of lift (a) availability and (b) maintenance and repair at train stations.

This is an operational matter for Network Rail and the train operating companies. Lifts should be available whenever passengers need them, however, there have been many occasions where this has not been the case. Network Rail has been aware of lift and escalator performance issues and established an improvement strategy in October 2023. In March 2024, the independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road carried out a review into lift performance, which reinforced the need to deliver the national improvement strategy. Since then, Network Rail has implemented new contracts, invested in strategic spares across the country and reviewed the operating model for delivering lift and escalator asset management.