Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve rail infrastructure to ensure that services are not cancelled during adverse weather.

We are spending a record £48 billion on the railway over Control Period 6 with a focus on making Britain’s railway more reliable and focused on passengers’ needs. The plans cover the five years from 1 April 2019. This represents a 17% increase in renewals spend from CP5 which will help cut delays caused by infrastructure failures, such as track defects.

This will allow Network Rail to be prepared for extreme weather and plan ahead to effectively minimise disruption. This will be achieved through a range of actions, including performing drainage work to reduce flood risk and working with specialist forecasters to keep Network Rail informed of severe weather risks and allow controllers to act.