Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77156 on Rolling Stock: Leasing, whether any of the train operating companies transferred into public ownership since July 2024 have seen rolling stock leasing arrangements novated unchanged to the new public sector operator; and what the total annual cost to the public purse is of those unchanged existing agreements.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are transferring currently franchised services into public ownership as current contracts expire, after they reach their contractual break point or if the contractual right to terminate is met - avoiding the need to pay compensation to the current operators for early termination. The services of three train operating companies have transferred into public ownership since July 2024, South Western Railway, c2c and Greater Anglia. The leasing arrangements for both c2c and Greater Anglia were novated on their existing terms. The Government had already been covering the costs of these since the pandemic. The annual cost of rolling stock to operators is published on an annual basis by the Office for Rail and Road.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2025 to Question 76344 on South Western Railway: Personnel Management, what the total cost to the Department for Transport Operator was of assuming (a) management and (b) payroll responsibilities for South Western Railway since it was brought into public ownership.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There was no cost to Department for Transport Operator (DFTO) of assuming management of South Western Railway (SWR). SWR pays DFTO an annual management fee.
DFTO did not assume payroll responsibilities for SWR, therefore there was no cost incurred. SWR manages its payroll internally and has its own payroll team. This was the case both before and after public ownership.
Since the pandemic, the Government has been covering the costs of DfT-contracted operators, in addition to paying private sector operators a management fee. As a result, there are no additional costs to the public purse from terminating contracts as they expire or if operators are found to be in breach.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2025 to Question 76344 on South Western Railway: Personnel Management, which organisation provided payroll services for South Western Railway (a) prior to and (b) following its transfer into public ownership.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
South Western Railway has managed payroll services internally prior to and following the transfer to public ownership.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether South Western Railway, Greater Anglia or c2c will run Boxing Day services this year, following the nationalisation of those companies.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Greater Anglia plans to run Stansted Express services on Boxing Day this year. Services are expected to operate every 30 minutes and due to engineering work these services will start and terminate from Tottenham Hale.
South Western Railway and c2c are not running Boxing Day services this year.
The Department requires its operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand. These should be resilient and provide value for money for the taxpayer.
Typically, demand for services on Boxing Day is low and much of the network is closed to provide opportunity for essential maintenance. We expect operators and in future, Great British Railways, to continue to consider the case for Boxing Day services where there is demand and they do not further increase the burden on taxpayers.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the resilience of Britain’s rail network to prolonged periods of dry weather, in the context of ongoing speed restrictions and service reductions on routes including the West of England line; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure (a) embankments and (b) track infrastructure are properly maintained to avoid repeated disruption to passengers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The resilience of Britain’s rail network to severe weather is managed through Network Rail’s Control Period 7 regional weather resilience and climate change adaptation plans. Through the period we will invest £2.8 billion in improving the resilience of their assets to extreme weather (including dry weather) and in development of long-term climate change adaptation pathways.
Extended periods of dry weather made some clay embankments unstable on some rail routes including in Westen England. In this region the driest spring since 1836, followed by the driest summer in 200 years, resulted in a severe soil moisture deficit. To manage these conditions safely Network Rail worked with train operators, including South Western Railway, to implement speed restrictions and make some service alterations as a result. Network Rail and South Western Railway continue to monitor soil moisture levels, track conditions, and train performance, and provide regular updates to the Department. Services will be reinstated as soon as it is safe to do so.
Most railway embankments in western/southern England are built on clay soil, which normally contains moisture. However, heat radiation and moisture absorption by lineside vegetation and trees have removed much of this moisture. Temporary speed restrictions, which cause extended journey times, are one of the ways in which services can continue to run safely.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support (a) South Western Railway and (b) Network Rail in improving the West of England mainline to prevent soil moisture deficits impacting rail journeys on that route.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is in regular discussion with South Western Railway and Network Rail on the monitoring of conditions on the West of England Line to ensure services are restored as soon as it is safe to do so. Once soil moisture levels improve and the ground begins to rehydrate and settle, engineers will carry out lasting repairs to stabilise the embankments and restore track levels, allowing the normal timetable to return.
Network Rail have plans for regional weather resilience and climate change adaptation, with £2.8 billion set aside at a national level in Control Period 7. We will work closely with Network Rail Wessex to ensure appropriate action is taken on the West of England line to minimise the risk of soil moisture deficit in future.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to introduce a Dorset Railcard.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are many local concessionary passes that are valid on National Rail, such as the Cornwall and Devon Railcard, which have been introduced by local authorities and train operators. Any discussions for a Dorset based railcard would be subject to engagement between the local area and South Western Railway as the relevant train operator.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the press notice entitled New dawn for rail as South Western services return to public hands, published on 25 May 2025, on what evidential basis her Department calculated that public ownership of railways would save £150 million from the public purse; and if she will publish (a) the categories of fees that are no longer payable and (b) the estimated value of each fee category.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Private sector train operating companies are paid fixed and performance-based fees are set out in their National Rail Contracts with the Department. Operations are being transferred into public ownership as their National Rail Contract expire, meaning these fees will no longer be applicable once services have transferred. This saving is estimated to be up to £150million per annum once all franchised contracts have expired, with a proportion of these savings achieved each year in the interim as individual operators’ services transfer.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will have discussions with local stakeholders on a Dorset Railcard scheme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are many local concessionary passes that are valid on National Rail, such as the Cornwall and Devon Railcard, which have been introduced by local authorities and train operators. Any discussions for a Dorset-based railcard would be subject to engagement between the local area and South Western Railway as the relevant train operator.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a Dorset Railcard to support residents with travel costs.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are many local concessionary passes that are valid on National Rail, such as the Cornwall and Devon Railcard, which have been introduced by local authorities and train operators. Any discussions for a Dorset-based railcard would be subject to engagement between the local area and South Western Railway as the relevant train operator.