Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support economic development in East Lancashire through rail modernisation.

The Government is working closely with Transport for the North, Rail North, Network Rail and HS2 Ltd on ambitious plans to modernise the railways in the North of England to support a Northern Powerhouse.　 The first stages are already being delivered.　 These include the introduction of a new hourly service between Blackburn, Burnley and Manchester over the re-opened Todmorden curve from May 2015, and procurement of new Northern and TransPennine Express franchises from next year providing better connections, faster journeys, increased capacity and modern rolling stock including the removal of the Pacer trains from the North of England. These improvements build on our substantial investment in the Northern Hub and other infrastructure projects.