Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government for what reasons Network Rail is proposing to reduce the timetable publication requirement from 12 to 8 weeks; and what assessment they have made of the impact of this change on passengers booking advance tickets and event organisers.

Network Rail is seeking to reduce the time it takes to produce rail timetables to improve the industry's ability to respond more quickly to changes in demand patterns. This would mean that final timetables are published 8 weeks in advance rather than 12 weeks as they are currently required to do. Network Rail has been working with operators to develop systems that would enable provisional timetables to be published earlier to facilitate advance ticket booking.

Plans for this change have not been finalised. The plans would require a change to the Network Licence Conditions for Network Rail. As the regulator, the Office of Rail and Road will be undertaking a formal public consultation which will enable it to take public views into account when making its decision about the licence change.