Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 104026 on 7 January 2026 on Channel Tunnel: Fares, what discussions she has had with the Office for Road and Rail on (a) consumer protection and (b) customer oversight.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Office of Rail and Road is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain's railways, including international rail services, and is also responsible for some consumer protection matters.
The Minister of State for Rail recently met with the ORR’s Chair, Declan Collier, and the Board to discuss a range of matters within the ORR’s remit, including facilitating competition within the international rail passenger market given the consumer benefits this is expected to bring for passengers. DfT officials also engage regularly with ORR counterparts to discuss these matters.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2026 to Question 105292, what funding her Department has provided directly to Community Rail Partnerships in each financial year since 2019–20; and what funding is planned for (a) 2026-27, (b) 2027-28 and (c) 2028-29.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not award funding directly to Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) – funding to CRPs is awarded via the Community Rail Network (CRN) and Train Operating Companies (TOCs). The CRN provide access to grants and resources for its members (a mix of CRPs and Station Adoption Groups).
The Department has granted over £800,000 of funding to the CRN in this financial year (FY 2025-2026). Funding from the Department has remained at a consistent level since 2019-20.
The Department will set out the funding for 2026-27 at the start of the next financial year. As we move towards establishing Great British Railways (GBR), the Community Rail movement will be integral to helping us deliver our priorities and will continue to deliver for passengers and communities. We will continue to support the community rail sector ahead of the standup of GBR.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 101488, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of removing or consolidating lower-cost rail fares as part of fare simplification reforms on fare evasion.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of our reforms to the railways, we are making fares easier to understand, so that passengers can buy tickets with confidence, knowing they are getting the right fare every time. Under Great British Railways (GBR), passengers will enjoy a consistent, reliable offer across the entire network. Simplifying fares is intended to improve passenger confidence and reduce the likelihood of unintentional fare irregularities.
Tackling fare evasion is a priority. The Secretary of State has accepted the Office for Road and Rail’s recommendations in its June 2025 review into revenue protection practices, and the Department will respond formally in due course.
In light of this wider work on ticketing and fare evasion, the Department has not undertaken a separate assessment specifically on the impact of removing or consolidating lower‑cost fares on fare evasion.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what incentives will be put in place to encourage growth in passenger numbers for the rail network for (a) Great British Railways as an organisation, (b) senior management within Great British Railways and (c) the rail workforce.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has been clear that GBR will be incentivised to deliver for passengers. By bringing responsibility for track and train into one organisation, GBR will be able to remove the mixture of conflicting incentives across multiple organisations and realign incentives towards passengers. This is being considered as part of the continuing GBR design process.
The Long-Term Rail Strategy will set out the outcomes we expect GBR to achieve, including an unrelenting focus on passengers. This will inform the development of GBR’s long-term strategic business plans, ensuring passengers, and other users of the railway, remain central to the organisation’s culture.
The continued expectation of a reduction in subsidy for the railways also incentivises growing passenger numbers, as well as benefitting taxpayers.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what targets her Department has set for reducing rail journey times between (a) Bradford and Leeds and (b) Bradford and Manchester; and how those targets align with the objectives of the Railways Bill.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Northern Powerhouse Rail will seek to create a turn up and go railway for passengers from Bradford to travel to cities across the growth corridor, including improving connections to Leeds and Manchester.
The government is learning the lessons from HS2 by taking sufficient time to explore and develop options, and so building certainty in costs, outputs and benefits, before confirming decisions on details such as journey times. We will work closely with local leaders to do that.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Rail Delivery Group on recent updates to fare search limits for passengers and rail retailers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department regularly engages with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on a range of issues relating to the rail retail market, recognising RDG's important role in managing systems and services upon which train operators, retailers and passengers rely. This will continue as we progress towards the establishment of Great British Railways.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2026 to Question 100962 on Great British Railways: Marketing, whether (a) growing revenue and (b) delivering value for money for passengers will take priority in the rollout of Great British Railways branding.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As set out in the answer to the question 100962, both growing revenue and delivering value for money for passengers will be a priority.
Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Welsh Government have made a formal request for the devolution of heavy rail infrastructure to Wales.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government committed to invest £445 million to enhance rail infrastructure across Wales at the Spending Review. Through the Wales Rail Board, the UK and Welsh Government are collaborating to make sure this investment delivers the greatest passenger benefits, drives economic growth, promotes social mobility, and tackles inequality.
Great British Railways will have a close and collaborative relationship with Transport for Wales, underpinned by objectives set jointly by UK and Welsh Ministers, to ensure the railway better serves passengers and freight.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2026 to Question 103034 on Railways: Tickets, if she will make an assessment of the impact of cancelling evening out return fares between Dorking and London on commuters.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
For stations in Dorking and Horley, we have simplified the complicated web of tickets by having one Peak and one Off-Peak price, with some fares changing and others being removed as part of improvements to ticketing via pay as you go with contactless expansion. This will allow passengers greater flexibility in their choice of tickets, with some seeing a reduction in their ticket price.
On 23 November the Chancellor and Transport Secretary announced that regulated rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years. Over a billion journeys are going to be affected by this freeze with season tickets, anytime returns on commuter routes, and off-peak returns on longer-distance routes all subject to the freeze.
The Department is currently progressing the evaluation of the phases of Pay as you go roll out in the South East. Once evaluation is complete we will make the final reports public.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve public transport provision in rural areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows how important affordable and reliable public transport services are in keeping communities connected.
We introduced the Bus Services Act 2025 to put power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders, including in rural areas. In addition, the Government has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators to improve bus services over the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year. East Midlands Combined Authority will be allocated £65.5 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £21.7 million they are already receiving this year.
On 1 January 2025, the Government introduced a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London, and in the Spending Review announced that this would be extended until March 2027. The £3 cap replaced the £2 cap, and without action, the cap would have ended and fares would have returned to their previous levels. Local authorities can also use their LABG funding to introduce local fares initiatives to further reduce travel costs
Rail services in East Midlands Combined Authority are supported by requirements on train operators to plan services and design timetables to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. The government commitment to public ownership through Great British Railways will also help to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality and efficient transport services, whilst also ensuring safety and accessibility. Under public ownership, passenger services can be operated in the interests of passengers, not shareholders.