Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the punctuality of railway services across England and Wales in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

The Department closely monitors the punctuality of rail services across England and Wales, and holds regular meetings with industry partners during which this issue is discussed.

Punctuality across the network as a whole has fallen over the last five years, although six Train Operating Companies have either improved or maintained their performance levels during that period. We are investing record sums in the network to improve services for passengers, and although inevitably there is a risk of some temporary disruption while these major schemes are being implemented, we have made clear to the industry that we expect them to do all they can to improve the situation.