Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the engineering work carried since October 2022 to reduce flooding of the track near Chipping Sodbury, and what, if any, further work is planned.

The work Network Rail has completed to date has significantly improved the resilience of the track at Chipping Sodbury during flooding events. Resilience levels for closure have been raised from 36mm to 73mm of rainfall for a 5-day consecutive period. This work delayed the flooding impact of Storm Claudia in mid-November significantly, with flooding above railhead occurring only after 76mm of rain, providing an extra 27 hours of resilience and operational railway at Chipping Sodbury.

Network Rail plans to spend a further £1.45m on further measures at Chipping Sodbury starting in 2026/27, which will include removing some long-standing restrictions to discharging water, reinstatement and renewal of pumps at both tunnel portals, and ground investigation and monitoring work.