Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what options they are considering for the future provision of rail freight across the Pennines including (1) from, and to, the port of Liverpool to, and from, destinations in Yorkshire and beyond and (2) power station fuel and container traffic to continental gauge standards; and what alternatives they are considering to the proposed new freight link via a reinstated Colne-Skipton line.

We are considering a range of options, as is standard practice, for how best to enhance the current capability and capacity for cross Pennine bulk and intermodal W10/W12 gauge rail freight between a range of origins and destinations, including a new link via Colne-Skipton and upgrades to other existing routes.