Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department's contract with East Midlands Railway for train services from Sheffield to London specifies the number of carriages each service should have available.

The National Rail Contract does not specify the number of carriages for each service, it is for the Train Operator to prepare a timetable which sets out the train formation that best matches available capacity to the forecast passenger demand.

EMR’s new Aurora bi-mode trains, which will deliver much-needed additional seats compared to the class 222 trains they are replacing on EMR’s intercity routes, have now started to enter passenger service and will continue with a phased rollout through 2026. EMR has put in place plans which will minimise the passenger impact of this fleet transition. However, to protect a reliable service for passengers, a small number of services may operate with shorter trains than usual, reducing capacity during this transition period.