Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which English counties do not have a direct train link to London; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the lack of such links on those counties.

The only English county that does not have a direct train service from London is Shropshire.

The department requires its operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand and provide value for money for the taxpayer.  Looking ahead to GBR, this offers us the opportunity to go further with optimising train services and driving up utilisation. Through GBR’s directing mind function, services and timetables will be developed in a coherent fashion that drives up network performance and improves the journey experience.