Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with CrossCountry Trains on overcrowding on its services.

Officials meet CrossCountry regularly to discuss contractual matters - including their plans for acquiring and deploying additional trains – as part of the National Rail Contract. CrossCountry is working with industry partners to acquire cascaded trains and also whether it would be possible to operate a small number of such trains in 2024 to provide additional capacity, subject to their availability, and an appropriate business case.