Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the potential increase in the number of people travelling by rail for (a) business and (b) leisure following the recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.

In line with our published guidance, the Department has developed scenarios of possible rail demand to reflect uncertainty, including how passengers respond post-Covid-19, and these inform decision making.

The Department continues to work closely with the industry to encourage rail use. Recent initiatives include:

• National marketing campaigns reminding potential passengers of the benefits and good value of rail travel.
• The Great British Rail Sale, the first ever nationwide rail sale. The Great British Rail Sale helped save families money, and connect them with friends and families. Over 1.3 million tickets were sold, offering around £7million worth of savings for passengers.
• Industry focus on promoting good value rail products such as rail cards, flexible season tickets and Advance tickets on a national, local and regional level.
• The Department is also working with operators and Network Rail to ensure that service levels are appropriate to passenger demand, whilst prioritising the good performance passengers need, and delivering good value for the taxpayer.