Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the use of rail for freight.

Government recognises the economic and environmental benefits of rail freight and is committed to transporting more goods by rail. The Government has published a Rail Freight Strategy to provide a stable policy framework to enable rail freight to grow and achieve its potential to unlock these benefits. Transporting more goods by rail freight brings environmental and congestion benefits, and the Government is committed to working with the rail freight industry to support its continued success.

To support future growth of the rail freight industry the Secretary of State also confirmed that Government intends to continue investment in improving the rail freight network in Control Period 6 (2019-2024) as part of their funding settlement.