Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the upgrade of York Station will ensure that the East and West entrances are fully accessible.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of any future work to develop York Station, we will work closely with Network Rail to ensure that entrances adhere to accessibility standards.
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 Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken to ensure the physical safety of public transport workers in (a) London and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
My Department is committed to ensuring that public transport workers are safe at work. As transport in London is devolved, it is for the Mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL) to work with the British Transport Police (BTP) and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to ensure the physical safety of their workers is maintained.
BTP continue to take robust action to ensure the physical safety of rail workers in London, including Romford. Their approach is intelligence led, focusing resources on areas and individuals identified through crime data and repeat offending patterns. They work closely with TfL and other rail operators to improve incident reporting, to ensure that all forms of abuse, whether physical, verbal or threatening, are recorded. This partnership strengthens intelligence and enables more effective operational planning.
Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Welsh Government have made a request for Northern Powerhouse rail to be designated as an England only project.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
We are working closely with the Welsh Government following our major commitment to the NPR programme.
Territorial classification of specific programmes depends on whether the policy area is devolved to the relevant devolved government in each nation or reserved to the UK Government. Heavy rail is reserved to the UK Government in England and Wales.
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: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 28 July 2025 (HL9776), what recent progress they have made towards ensuring that every platform has level boarding at the new Old Oak Common station.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Old Oak Common station will provide full street to platform step-free access, with HS2 platforms designed to offer full level boarding. Platforms serving the Elizabeth Line and conventional rail services have been designed to accommodate different kinds of rolling stock that have different boarding heights. Work to establish the feasibility and safety of deviating from standard 915mm platform heights on the relief line platforms (platforms 5-8, which will predominantly serve the Elizabeth Line) is continuing. Completed assessments to enable a final decision on this issue are expected by Spring 2026, with an announcement expected by the end of the year.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of hybrid trains and the reliability of those trains for long distance journeys, following recent reported issues with generator units on Great Western Railway trains.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Hybrid trains play an important role in providing connectivity across the UK. Great Western Railway (GWR) has been working with its supplier Hitachi, which manufactured and maintains GWR’s Intercity Express Trains, to understand and address the significant recent and current issues with generator units. The Government expects all rail industry partners to work together urgently to deliver reliable services for passengers.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the up-front technology and systems investment costs required for Network Rail and National Highways to deliver the efficiency gains assumed in the regulated settlements.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Technology and systems investments are integral to delivering efficiencies within Network Rail’s plan for Control Period 7. Significant investments have been made in specific technology and systems programmes, for example £930 million on Digital Signalling, £215 million on Electrical Safety and Delivery, and £185 million on Project Reach which aims to secure external investment to upgrade Network Rail’s telecoms infrastructure through utilising private sector funding. These investments are made to drive Network Rail's delivery against its overall strategic objectives, one of which is efficiency.
For National Highways, the upfront technology and system costs required to support efficiency delivery and performance outcomes will form part of the overall investment plan to be confirmed when RIS3 is published in March 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what work they are undertaking towards the electrification of railways lines, in particular the Midland Main Line, and what is the timescale for that work.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Midland Main Line (MML) is now electrified as far as Wigston, south of Leicester, which has enabled the phased introduction of East Midland Railway’s new bi-mode intercity trains to begin. As part of Spending Review 2025, however, the decision was taken to pause electrification of the remainder of the route to Nottingham and Sheffield via Derby.
Continued electrification remains part of this government’s approach to decarbonising our railways and this includes electrification of the MML. Although it is not currently funded within this Spending Review period, further electrification of the MML will be kept under active review and consideration, as part of our longer-term pipeline of proposed rail investment schemes.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the efficiency savings attributed to regulated settlements arise from regulatory funding constraints imposed by the Office of Rail and Road.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Office of Rail and Road has a key role in providing assurance to Government on the regulated settlements for National Highways and Network Rail, this includes assuring what is to be delivered against the available funding as well as what is an appropriate efficiency target.