Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2019 to Question 271564 on Railways: Telecommunications, what estimate he has made of the timescale of the delivery of improvements to rail passenger wi-fi connectivity; and what assessment he has made of the effect on that estimated timescale of (a) delays to live rail franchise competitions, (b) the suspension of the Cross Country rail franchise and (c) the change to the timeframe of the rail franchising programme as a result of the Williams Rail Review.

The latest figures published by Transport Focus in the Spring 2019 National Rail Passenger Survey show that customer satisfaction for the reliability of internet connectivity on trains has improved by 7% from the Spring 2018 survey. We also expect to see improvements to rail passenger wi-fi connectivity as franchises are renewed. A timescale for further improvements will be established once the Government has published its White Paper setting out how we will implement the Williams Rail Review recommendations in the autumn.