Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2019 to Question 208287, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of train operating company training and planning with respect to (a) traincrew and (b) depots in order to facilitate the introduction of the new trains due onto the rail network between 2019 and 2021.

The Department evaluates the deliverability of traincrew and depots strategies as part of the franchise competition process. It is then the responsibility of train operating companies to deliver those strategies to facilitate the introduction of new trains in line with their contractual commitments.