Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to the Peninsula Rail Task Force rail improvement plan published in 2016.

We will continue to engage with the Peninsula Rail Task Force (PRTF) and other interested parties as the planning for Network Rail’s work programme for the period starting in April 2019 and the development of the specifications for the future Great Western and Cross Country franchises unfold.

The work of the Peninsula Rail Task Force continues to be a valuable part of the process for defining our priorities for investment after 2019.

New enhancements will be taken forward through a new process in the form of a pipeline, designed to ensure investment best addresses the needs of passengers and freight, and that funding commitments appropriately reflect the stage of development of enhancements.