Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of potential future patterns of rail demand; and what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the rail industry on anticipating future demand.

The Department has made no formal assessment of future rail demand. The Department has conducted some rail demand scenarios which take a range of assumptions on potential drivers including economic forecasts and the potential duration of Covid restrictions. These assumptions are subject to ongoing update, refinement and review.

The Department has had discussions on different approaches to assessing rail demand with Network Rail, Train Operating Companies and Sub-National Transport bodies.