Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has for Great British Railways to work with seaports and airports to reduce passenger and freight use from those locations.

The reforms set out in the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail are designed to improve services for rail passengers and freight customers to encourage rail use. The Government is fully committed to bringing forward this vital sector-wide reform.

The maritime and aviation sectors are key to UK trade. They facilitate our valuable UK imports and exports, as well as passenger movement. Once established, Great British Railways will have a clear mandate to strengthen rail freight and will work with other locations to incentivise a modal shift from road to rail when freight moves inland, to unlock the economic and environmental benefits that the rail freight sector can deliver.