Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to encourage people to transition from the use of road and air travel to rail.

The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, published May 2021, set out the biggest transformation of the railways in three decades with reforms designed to improve services for passengers and freight customers and encourage rail use. A new public body, Great British Railways, will run the network in the public interest and have a new relationship with train operators defined by tough new contracts incentivising punctual and reliable services.

Our reforms will also see a modernisation of fares and ticketing with better value, simpler fares and a huge expansion of modern payment methods. We’ve already sold over 250,000 of our new flexible season tickets launched in June 2021, offering commuters significant savings.

Cars will always remain an option for people who wish to travel that way.