Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the trajectory for the leasing costs of the new rolling stock on the East Midlands Railway over the course of the asset life of the trains after the award of the contract by operator Abellio to Hitachi on 30 July 2019.

The leasing costs of rolling stock during the franchise term are a matter for Abellio. Beyond the existing 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.