Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 25 September 2019 to Question 290960, what assessment he has made of the trajectory for rolling stock leasing costs on the East Midlands Railway once the Abellio franchise ends in 2026.

Referring to the Answer of 25 September 2019 to Question 290960, beyond the existing East Midlands franchise, the retention of this rolling stock within the franchise and the associated leasing costs will be dealt with through a future re-franchising competition. The assessment of the rolling stock lease costs for the future franchise would be conducted at that time.