Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times he (a) met and (b) had other contacts with representatives from Govia Thameslink Railway to discuss the implementation of the Rail Plan 2020 timetable changes in each of the last six months.

My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with representatives from the rail industry where a range of topics are discussed. As he made clear in his recent statement to the House, as few as three weeks before the timetable was to be implemented Govia Thameslink Railway assured the Secretary of State they were ready to implement the timetable changes.