Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding she plans to allocate to direct rail links between the UK and Germany; and what proportion of that will be allocated in the UK.

The Government fully supports the growth of international rail passenger services, including potential new direct connections, and recognises the socio-economic benefits that these provide for UK citizens and businesses.

The Government signed a joint declaration with Germany in August which formalises our joint commitment to exploring the potential for direct rail services in future and establishes a Taskforce to take this forward. This work is in the very early stages, and any services established will be operated on a commercial basis without Government funding, as is the case for all international rail passenger services from the UK.