Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to make an announcement concerning the class 170 trains which are due to be transferred from TransPennine Express to Chiltern Railways.

The Department for Transport continues to work with industry partners to develop a solution that will see more electric trains going into the North, in addition to the 14 already planned. We envisage that these electric trains will release diesel trains to be used on parts of the network in the north that are not yet electrified. The exact detail of this is subject to commercial negotiations and the House will be updated as soon as these are concluded.