Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of potential overcrowding on the (a) Greenwich, (b) Woolwich, (c) Bexleyheath and (d) Sidcup train services at peak travel times.

There has been significant disruption to Southeastern services over recent months driven by industrial action, multiple infrastructure incidents and mobilising the new timetable, introduced on 11 December 2022.

When there is disruption it can cause crowding both at stations and on trains, especially at peak times. A joint task force has been set up by Network Rail and Southeastern focusing on improving underlying performance and to consider tactical interventions. Several changes have already been made including operating additional services and lengthening some trains where demand is higher than expected. Southeastern continues to assess performance and demand in order to consider further targeted interventions. Department officials and I continue to monitor this work very closely whilst Southeastern will continue to keep stakeholders informed of developments.