Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria his Department uses when assessing whether to withdraw a franchise from a consistently poorly-performing railway operator.

The franchise agreement contains incentive/penalty regimes to encourage operators to meet/exceed the performance targets. Where, despite these regimes there are performance issues, the Department takes a stepped approach to managing any failure of a franchised train operator to deliver its franchise obligations, taking account of factors such as the impact on passengers and taxpayers, in line with its published enforcement policy. Sanctions may include requiring the operator to implement a remedial plan to provide redress, a financial penalty, or in the most extreme cases removal of the franchise.