Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to continue to support rail operations; and steps his Department is taking to assess future rail use.

As the railways recover from the pandemic, the Department is supporting the industry to provide more capacity than currently used to encourage passengers back onto the railway. While the long-term trend for rail remains unclear, we are working closely with operators to estimate future rail use, ensure services reflect demand, and balance performance and cost.