Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take help avoid disruption to railway services due to high temperatures.

The Transport Secretary recognises passengers need the certainty of reliable and safe journeys, and is determined to work with industry to improve performance on the railway. We are committed to spending over £48 billion on the railway over the next five years, with an emphasis on increasing the pace of renewing outdated infrastructure to improve reliability. Network Rail is already treating rails to enable them to cope with heat, and has been applying reflective paint to reduce the heat absorbed. Since 2003, these methods have decreased the number of rail buckling incidents by 83%. In addition, Network Rail is also looking to the longer term and has in place a weather resilience and climate change strategy to ensure the infrastructure can cope with climate change and short-term periods of extreme weather.