Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the decision to defer work on the Handsacre link on journey times between London, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow; and what impact this will have on the overall economic case for HS2.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
HS2 Ltd has extended the deferral of works between Birmingham and Handsacre, in place since spring 2023, to focus efforts on the cost-efficient delivery of the opening stage of HS2 between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street. Given the Department remains committed to delivering Phase 1 in full, including the Handsacre link to the West Coast Main Line, the deferral is not expected to have any impact on journey time improvements between London, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow once delivery is complete.
The deferral will enable the delivery of HS2’s opening stage as soon as possible and at the lowest reasonable cost to taxpayers.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of using the Sutton Park freight line for passenger services on (a) the capacity of the West Coast main line and (b) passenger services into central Birmingham.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline investment portfolio was set out in the June 2025 Spending Review settlement.
The Department for Transport is not actively exploring this proposal for the Sutton Park freight line, but local authorities such as West Midlands Combined Authority, are free to develop local proposals for investment using their own devolved transport funding.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions has she had with Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway since their open access application was rejected in July 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department provided its support for Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway’s (WSMR) original application in February 2025 and officials have met with WSMR since July to discuss its views regarding the regulator’s decision to reject their application due to lack of capacity on the West Coast Main Line.
The Department respects the ORR’s ruling and acknowledges that large areas of the network are already operating at full capacity, but remains open to further engagement with WSMR – and other Open Access operators – as may be required in the future.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with HS2 Ltd on the the delay to the planned connection between High Speed 2 and the West Coast Main Line at Handsacre; what the additional cost to the public purse will be as a result of that delay; and what recent steps the she has taken to ensure that the HS2 project is delivered on time and within budget.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State for Transport and the Rail Minister have regular engagement with the CEO and Chair of HS2 Ltd to maintain oversight of the project and support their comprehensive reset of HS2.
The government has committed an unprecedented settlement of £25.3 billion to progress the delivery of HS2 and Euston up to 2029/30, which will fund construction of the new railway at the lowest reasonable cost. New estimates for the programme’s overall costs and schedule are being developed as part of the HS2 reset.
The four-year deferral of works between Delta Junction and Handsacre Junction will enable construction efforts to focus on the cost-efficient delivery of HS2’s opening stage between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street.
The works in this area were already paused, meaning the further deferral will not incur demobilisation costs. There will be some additional costs from prolongation and inflation, but these are necessary given the HS2 reset and the need to budget carefully in the wider context of total government spending.
The Secretary of State informed the House of the action she took to bring HS2’s delivery under control in an oral statement she made in June 2025 and in her HS2 progress report of July 2025. Further updates will be provided in the Department’s future six-monthly reports to Parliament.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce train delays on the West Coast Mainline.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Improving rail performance is one of this Government’s strategic priorities for transport. We are determined to deliver more punctual and reliable services as well as better value for money for the taxpayer.
In response to our challenge to improve performance, the rail industry has set out a Performance Restoration Framework, with five clear areas of focus to recover performance to acceptable levels, including timetable resilience, staffing and how to keep trains moving during disruptive events.
Avanti West Coast (AWC) is beginning to see consistent and steady performance improvements on the network. However, there is still more to do with punctuality behind the industry average and Network Rail infrastructure reliability continuing to be a leading cause of passenger disruption on the West Coast Mainline.
The Rail Minister is in regular contact with the AWC Managing Director and Network Rail, to challenge poor performance and demand immediate action to deliver urgent improvements.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps with her Scottish counterpart to help prevent issues on the railways in Scotland that cause northbound trains on the West Coast Mainline to terminate at Preston rather than continuing up to Carlisle.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State is aware of difficulties passengers face during disruption in the North-West of England with limited options to keep services moving on the West Coast Mainline north of Preston.
The Rail Minister has strongly pressed Network Rail and Avanti West Coast, requesting that they urgently work together to come up with solutions for passengers during disruption.
Network Rail is undertaking an upgrade programme on the West Coast Main Line north of Crewe to improve the performance and reliability of the railway. This section of the route was last upgraded in the 1970s and suffers from performance issues today.
Asked by: Lord Inglewood (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for providing regular bus connections for passengers to Oxenholme and Penrith during the forthcoming diversion of the West Coast Main Line.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Avanti West Coast (AWC) has announced rail replacement bus services will be in operation for passengers wishing to travel to and from Lancaster, Oxenholme and Penrith during the January engineering works. Further details on this will be available on the AWC website soon.
The Department regularly discusses with AWC the provision of services for passengers, including during engineering works. The Department has not undertaken an assessment of AWCs proposed bus connections.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help (a) tackle infrastructure congestion and (b) improve (i) timetable capacity and (ii) passenger numbers to support open access plans for the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The delivery of HS2 will almost double long-distance rail capacity between London and the West Midlands, significantly improving the heavily congested southern section of the West Coast Main Line and releasing capacity for other services on the route. We are also investing to increase power supply on the southern end of the West Coast Main Line to enable the introduction of new electric services and support future growth and performance improvements on the route.
Further, my Department remains committed to a role for Open Access where it provides genuine benefits to passengers without disproportionately impacting taxpayers, which is why we provided support for Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway’s application. However, we must equally ensure that Open Access does not have detrimental impacts upon the performance of the network. It is the role of the regulator to take access decisions informed by assessments of capacity.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to increase capacity on the West Coast Main Line southern section, in the context of the decision by the Office of Rail and Road to reject the open access application from Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The delivery of HS2 will almost double long-distance rail capacity between London and the West Midlands, significantly improving the heavily congested southern section of the West Coast Main Line and releasing capacity for other services on that section of the line. Unfortunately, following significant cost increases and delays as a result of poor management, HS2 will not be delivered by 2033 as was previously planned; the government has taken urgent action to bring the project under control and tasked new HS2 Ltd CEO with undertaking a comprehensive reset of the programme, which will include setting updated cost and delivery schedule estimates.
In the meantime, the West Coast Main Line will continue to be capacity constrained making it virtually impossible for additional train services to reliably come into operation, which is the primary reason why the Office of Rail and Road declined the Wrexham, Shropshire, and Midlands Railway’s application.
While the government will not reverse the previous government’s decision to cancel HS2 Phase 2, we acknowledge concerns about future capacity north of Birmingham and hope to say more on connectivity in the Midlands and the North in the coming months. In the meantime, we are investing to increase power supply on the southern end of the West Coast Main Line, to enable the introduction of new electric services and support future growth and performance improvements on the route.
Further, my Department remains committed to a role for Open Access where it provides genuine benefits to passengers without disproportionately impacting taxpayers, which is why we provided support for Wrexham, Shropshire, and Midlands Railway’s application. However, we must equally ensure that Open Access does not have detrimental impacts upon the performance of the network. It is the role of the regulator to take access decisions informed by assessments of capacity.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Office of Rail and Road’s decision to reject the open access application from Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway (WSMR) on passengers.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department remains committed to Open Access where it provides genuine benefits for passengers through improved connectivity and does not disproportionately impact taxpayers or performance of the network. That is why we supported WSMR’s application, acknowledging the benefits that it would provide to passengers in the communities served while noting potential capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line.
Access to the railway network, however, is a decision for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in its capacity as independent regulator, and it is only right that ORR considers capacity and impacts to passengers across the network more broadly as key parts of its assessments. In this instance, ORR deemed that WSMR’s proposed services could not practicably be introduced due to lack of capacity on the West Coast Main Line.