Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Government’s report, Fixing the Foundations; creating a more prosperous nation, Cm 9098, published in July 2015, what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) proposed changes to the rail industry and (b) the rail investment programme on productivity.

Claire Perry

The country’s railways are an important enabler of productivity and national prosperity, which is why the Government has committed to delivering investment of a record £38 billion across the country’s network.

We have appointed Sir Peter Hendy as Chair of Network Rail to ensure the rail investment programme is delivered sustainably.

We have also asked Nicola Shaw to advise Government on how we should approach the longer-term future shape and financing of Network Rail. She will publish her final report before Budget 2016. In addition, we have appointed Crossrail chair Terry Morgan to develop a transport and infrastructure skills strategy. We will consider their recommendations in due course.