Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of the train line between Aberystwyth and Birmingham International in the last 12 months; and whether she plans to allocate funding to improve (a) services and (b) rolling stock on that line in the next 12 months.

Services and rolling stock on this line are the responsibility of Transport for Wales. My officials meet regularly with TfW to agree performance improvement actions on this cross-border route.

Building on the recent UK Government funded upgrade of the line’s signalling system to support the intended introduction of new trains, and the investment plans detailed in the recent Spending Review, we will continue to work collaboratively with the Welsh Government to further develop services on routes across Wales and the Borders