Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to take steps to require that (a) Great British Railways and (b) any operator within Great British Railways cannot operate commercial freight services.

The Government is committed to supporting rail freight growth, recognising its significant economic and environmental potential and critical role in the UK’s resilience.

Under GBR, freight will remain a private industry and continue to be an integral part of the railway. There are no plans for GBR to run commercial freight services. GBR will retain Network Rail’s ability to run services which are required to support the operation of the network.