Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what winter weather resilience measures have been put in place for the West Coast mainline.

The rail industry has well-established procedures to ensure that railway infrastructure and trains are prepared for winter conditions, including the operation of specialised trains to treat the track to help keep it clear of snow and ice, the use of points heaters to prevent those freezing up, and measures to keep snow and ice out of electrical equipment on trains. With appropriate variation for the specific needs of each part of the network, these arrangements apply on the West Coast Main Line as on the rest of the network. I note that recently the West Coast main line north of Carlisle was re-opened just three days after being submerged under eight feet of floodwater.