Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether bidders for the next West Midlands regional rail franchise will be able to remove seats from rolling stock in order to increase passenger carrying capacity; and if he will make a statement.

The Invitation to Tender for the West Midlands franchise allows bidders to propose alternative layouts which could include fewer seats and more standing space for services which operate on the 'Cross-City' line in Birmingham. This option is included in response to the West Midlands franchise consultation, where there was a particularly strong response from respondents that use this line about changing the current 3+2 seating arrangement to provide wider aisles and more spacious and comfortable standing areas. However, if bidders do propose changes to the seating layouts, they would need to meet certain criteria for this to be permissible.