Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether under the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail Great British Railways will have the ability to run services directly in the public sector.

We want to ensure that Passenger Service Contracts will attract the widest range of new and innovative bidders and can support a competitive market that delivers benefits for users and taxpayers.

Public sector operators are currently prohibited from operating franchised contracts in England & Wales except as an operator of last resort. The government is committed to maintaining and expanding opportunities for private business in supporting Britain’s railways in the future.

As we move to implementing the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail we will take the opportunity to review existing legislation to ensure it is still up to date and appropriate. However, we expect the current provisions to continue.