Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the (a) frequency and (b) reliability of rail services on the Rose Hill to Manchester Piccadilly line.

The department expects operators to match capacity and frequency of their services to demand, which can mean increased service frequency where that is the right response - although these must also be operationally sustainable and deliver value for taxpayers.

Ministers have made very clear to Northern’s management that its current performance, including between Rose Hill and Manchester, is not acceptable, and that is why the Rail North Partnership, through which the Department and Transport for the North jointly manage Northern’s contract, issued it with a notice of breach of contract. This required Northern to produce a detailed plan to improve its services.