Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the construction of extra track on the rail line between Chelmsford, Hatfield Peverel and Witham in Essex.

The Initial Industry Plan (IIP) for the England and Wales rail network will be presented to Government in September 2016. On the basis of the findings of the Anglia Route Study, I anticipate that an additional section of track north of Witham (also known as a “looping facility”) will feature in the IIP. During 2017, the Government will provide an indication of which elements of the IIP it wishes to fund from 2019.