Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of (a) Thameslink and (b) East Midlands Railway on the use of coaches with Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations exemption certificates as part of rail replacement contracts in Bedfordshire.

No specific conversations have taken place on this with either Thameslink or East Midlands Railway. We remain disappointed that fully accessible services cannot always be provided for rail replacement. As Rail Minister, I have set clear expectations on the train operating companies to source and use PSVAR compliant vehicles wherever possible in the first instance, and only use a non-compliant vehicle that has been granted a special authorisation when all other compliant options have been exhausted.