Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to tackle the cancellation of trains on the Great Northern Line at Oakleigh Park.

The Department is aware that, despite overall punctuality improvements in recent months, there has been a high level of cancellations on the Great Northern route recently, and has raised this issue with the operator. GTR has confirmed that it has put in place some operational changes during the last week which we expect to improve the situation, and officials will continue to monitor performance to ensure that there is an improvement.

Brand new trains with more capacity are replacing old 1970s rolling stock on the Great Northern Line which will transform the passenger experience on this line. They are currently being introduced into service and will provide additional passenger benefits such as WiFi, air conditioning and a plug socket at every seat. Drivers are currently training on the new rolling stock which has reduced GTR’s staffing resilience, and has contributed to the level of cancellations. We continue to press GTR to introduce these new trains without disruption to passengers.