Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received from groups supporting the development of the Brighton Mainline 2; and if he will make a statement.

In recent years the Department has received numerous and varied representations on different elements of wide ranging proposals, collectively known as “Brighton Main Line 2.” This has included individual stakeholders, local and national interest groups, as well as several Hon and Rt Hon members. In response, the Government commissioned Network Rail to undertake a capacity study of rail services between London and the Sussex coast, the findings of which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/brighton-main-line-emerging-capacity-strategy-for-control-period-6

The Network Rail study found that short to medium term investments along the BML should be focussed on improving existing infrastructure.