Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of nationalising South Western Railway on passenger rail prices since 25 May 2025.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As more train operators are brought into public ownership through the Department for Transport Operator and the establishment of Great British Railways, we must continue to ensure that passengers and taxpayers receive a fair deal. Since the pandemic, the level of taxpayer subsidy provided to the railway industry has increased from under a quarter of total income in 2018/19 to almost half in 2023/24. Our goal is to balance affordability for both passengers and taxpayers, while ensuring the railway’s long-term financial sustainability.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the rail nationalisation programme on passenger rail prices.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As more train operators are brought into public ownership through the Department for Transport Operator and the establishment of Great British Railways, we must continue to ensure that passengers and taxpayers receive a fair deal. Since the pandemic, the level of taxpayer subsidy provided to the railway industry has increased from under a quarter of total income in 2018/19 to almost half in 2023/24. Our goal is to balance affordability for both passengers and taxpayers, while ensuring the railway’s long-term financial sustainability.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timeframe is for establishing the Passenger Standards Authority.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As the Government has announced, Transport Focus will be strengthened to become the Passenger Watchdog. It will continue its operations throughout the transition period and can start building up its capability shortly after the Railways Bill receives Royal Assent. We expect the watchdog will be fully established with all of its new powers within 12 months of this.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2025 to Question 69838 on Railway Stations: Aldridge, if she will publish details of any (a) discussions and (b) correspondence that (i) she and (ii) her Department has had with (A) Mayor Parker and (B) his office on Aldridge station.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has regular meetings with Mayor Richard Parker and his officials, with discussions covering a range of transport issues.
My officials are in regular contact with West Midlands Combined Authority about the continuing design work for Aldridge, which is forecast to complete next year.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Midlands Rail Hub on (a) capacity on the West Coast Main Line and (b) passenger services into central Birmingham; and what discussions she has had with the West Midlands Combined Authority on the use of devolved transport funding to develop those proposals.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Midlands Rail Hub supports economic and housing growth in the region by creating capacity for more trains in central Birmingham. The additional capacity will support improved reliability of services running through New Street station, including trains that use the West Coast Main Line and will also mean more services from Worcester, South Wales and the South West.
The West Midlands Combined Authority and West Midlands Rail Executive are closely involved in the development, design and delivery of Midlands Rail Hub.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83840 on Railways: West Midlands, if her Department will explore the use of the Sutton Park freight line for passenger services; and whether its inclusion in the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline was considered.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport is not actively exploring this proposal for the Sutton Park freight line, but local authorities, such as West Midlands Combined Authority, are free to develop local proposals for investment using their own devolved transport funding.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of using the Sutton Park freight line for passenger services on (a) the capacity of the West Coast main line and (b) passenger services into central Birmingham.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline investment portfolio was set out in the June 2025 Spending Review settlement.
The Department for Transport is not actively exploring this proposal for the Sutton Park freight line, but local authorities such as West Midlands Combined Authority, are free to develop local proposals for investment using their own devolved transport funding.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is she taking to a) support and b) encourage new open access rail applications.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We want a rail sector that is innovative and provides greater connectivity and understand that Open Access can support this aim. That is why we have been clear that we will support Open Access in the right circumstances, and why my department stands ready to engage with Open Access operators to assess the financial, operational and performance impacts of individual applications on a case-by-case basis. We will, however, only provide support to individual applications where benefits clearly outweigh costs to taxpayers and do not impact upon the efficient operation of the network.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 65284 on Railways: West Midlands, what assessment she made of the potential impact of the Midlands rail hub on (a) capacity and (b) connectivity with the Sutton Park line.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Midlands Rail Hub creates the capacity for additional trains benefiting rail users across the region; it does not propose any changes to the Sutton Park Line.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions has she had with Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway since their open access application was rejected in July 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department provided its support for Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway’s (WSMR) original application in February 2025 and officials have met with WSMR since July to discuss its views regarding the regulator’s decision to reject their application due to lack of capacity on the West Coast Main Line.
The Department respects the ORR’s ruling and acknowledges that large areas of the network are already operating at full capacity, but remains open to further engagement with WSMR – and other Open Access operators – as may be required in the future.