Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78720 on South West Railway: Nationalisation, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of public ownership of the railways on levels of Government (a) spending, (b) borrowing and (c) debt.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government implemented emergency contractual arrangements which involved taking on all revenue and the vast majority of cost risk from the train operating companies.

Therefore, public ownership of these rail services is not expected to change the Government’s financial exposure other than savings in the fees currently paid to privately-owned train operating companies of an estimated £110 million to £150 million every year once all currently contracted services have transferred.