Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of improved on-train wi-fi services on discouraging less sustainable forms of travel.

As part of the Spending Review business case assessing the value for money of delivering improved passenger internet connectivity, we assessed the positive benefits that can arise from ‘modal shift’, arising where people choose to travel by train in preference to using their cars. We followed standard transport appraisal and passenger demand forecast handbook guidance in our assessments.