Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has received updated cost estimates for Channel Tunnel container gauge clearance.

I am aware of industry proposals to enhance Kent routes to ‘W12’, in order to enable more containerised traffic from Europe, which was estimated by Network Rail to cost around £200m. Network Rail has been considering more affordable, incremental gauge clearance proposal as a step towards W12, with estimated costs below £50m. However, any investment decision will be subject to the usual business case process, working with industry, and will need to clearly demonstrate demand for enhanced infrastructure.