Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the reliability of the Thameslink service to Rainham; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of Southeastern trains making additional stops at Higham in the event of Thameslink service cancellations to Rainham.

My Department is working with Southeastern, Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail to address reliability issues on the Rainham route, particularly following a rise in cancellations since the beginning of the year driven by employee sickness and training demands linked to new technology.

Higham station currently has two Thameslink services per hour with additional Southeastern services at peak times. Station coverage is monitored to ensure a minimum service of one train per hour in each direction and Southeastern services can be scheduled to make additional stops at Higham if required.