Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is (1) the route of the tunnels between Old Oak Common and Euston, and (2) the location of their Euston end portals; and how these features interact with any designs for the HS2 station at Euston.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
From Old Oak Common station, the twin bore Euston tunnels will head north-east under Kensal Green Cemetery before broadly following the line of the Network Rail West Coast Main Line into Euston. The alignment curves in a southerly direction under Primrose Hill and the bored tunnels will end beneath the junction of Parkway and Gloucester Avenue.
From this point the twin bore tunnels will transition into a group of structures termed the Euston approaches, rather than interfacing directly with the station at Euston. The Euston approaches include a set of sprayed concrete lined (SCL) tunnels that connect to the twin bored tunnels. The Euston approaches will broadly cover the area between London Zoo car park and Hampstead Road.
The immediate structure that is to interface with Euston station is a retained cutting, which extends for circa 600m from a northerly direction to the entrance of Euston station. This will enable the HS2 lines to fan out into the necessary configuration for the station and its platforms.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether plans are being developed to upgrade York Station.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government has announced as part of phase one of Northern Powerhouse Rail that it will deliver upgrades between Leeds and York Station in the 2030s. This will be aligned with work being undertaken by Network Rail to develop a sustainable long-term strategy for the East Coast Main Line. We will ensure a coherent plan for the area, building on the work already in hand as part of York Central to maximise the growth opportunities through development and redesign of York Station.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for the construction of a railway station at Tempsford.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
East West Rail Company has set out details of its proposals for a new station at Tempsford as part of East West Rail in its autumn announcement in November 2025. The Government and East West Rail Company have committed to bring forward the delivery of a new station at Tempsford to introduce services on the East Coast Main Line to the area ahead of the full East West Rail scheme opening and design work is progressing on this.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of capacity on the East Coast Mainline in the context of the Tempsford New Town.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has committed to bring forward the delivery of a new station at Tempsford to introduce services on the East Coast Main line (ECML) to the area as part of the East West Rail (EWR) project and ahead of the full EWR scheme opening. Network Rail will consider the impact of any new station at Tempsford as part of business case development for any future ECML infrastructure investment, including journey time and capacity implications for ECML services.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve digital connectivity for passengers on East Coast Main Line services.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of the Spending Review, the Department was successful in securing funding to deploy low earth orbit satellite connectivity for all mainline trains to improve on-train WiFi for passengers. This will include London North Eastern Railway, which will see improvements as part of this deployment.
The Department has also been working with Network Rail to deliver improved connectivity on the rail network. Project Reach will renew fibre optic cables and address 4G / 5G mobile signals in 57 key mainline tunnels.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many trains on the East Coast Main Line have been cancelled due to train faults in 2025 to date.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
For the East Coast Mainline, between 5 January 2025 and 8 November 2025, there have been 1931.6 full or part cancellations attributed to Technical Fleet Delays (which includes train faults). This figure is weighted by the number of cancelled stops on the East Coast route for a cancelled train, which might only spend part of its journey on the route
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timeline for making a decision on the application from Transport for London to run the Northern City Line between Moorgate and Hertfordshire.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Transport for London (TfL) has submitted a business case for the devolution of Great Northern inner services, which include the Northern City Line. No decision has yet been made. The Department is reviewing the proposal and working with TfL to assess its benefits and wider implications, such as supporting housing growth—for example, the potential development of 21,000 homes at Crew’s Hill. A timeline for a decision has not been set, but this work is continuing.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of a new station at Alconbury Weald as part of the East Coast Mainline Programme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following the conclusion of the Spending Review, I can confirm that there are no current plans to construct a new East Coast Main Line (ECML) station at Alconbury Weald. The Department recognises the importance of the ECML and is working with Network Rail and industry stakeholders in developing a sustainable long-term strategy of investment for the route.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
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 implementation of the European Train Control System on the East Coast Mainline on the feasibility of a new station at Alconbury Weald.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
1) There are no current plans to construct a new East Coast Main Line (ECML) station at Alconbury Weald. The Department recognises the importance of the ECML and is starting work with Network Rail and industry stakeholders on development of a long-term strategy of investment for the route.
2) The following progress has been made on the East Coast Digital Programme. In May 2025, the first phase of the scheme was complete with the removal of conventional lineside signals, and all services using digital signalling on the Northern City Line (NCL) between Finsbury Park and Moorgate. This is the first no signals commuter railway in the country, and first of any kind since the early Cambrian Line pilot in 2011. 100,000 services have now operated on NCL using digital signalling.
The infrastructure between Welwyn and Hitchin has been upgraded for the first European Train Control System (ETCS) section on the ECML. In line with the approach taken on NCL, the Welwyn to Hitchin section will initially operate as an overlay (i.e. able to operate with both conventional and digital signalling) to facilitate driver conversion training. The work is being led by Network Rail who, subject to the necessary assurances and regulatory processes, anticipate being able to begin driver train using digital signalling through that section from summer 2026.
3) Work to implement the ETCS on the East Coast Mainline between Huntingdon and Kings Cross is scheduled to be completed in the early 2030s.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when work to implement the European Train Control System on the East Coast Mainline between Huntingdon and Kings Cross will be completed.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
1) There are no current plans to construct a new East Coast Main Line (ECML) station at Alconbury Weald. The Department recognises the importance of the ECML and is starting work with Network Rail and industry stakeholders on development of a long-term strategy of investment for the route.
2) The following progress has been made on the East Coast Digital Programme. In May 2025, the first phase of the scheme was complete with the removal of conventional lineside signals, and all services using digital signalling on the Northern City Line (NCL) between Finsbury Park and Moorgate. This is the first no signals commuter railway in the country, and first of any kind since the early Cambrian Line pilot in 2011. 100,000 services have now operated on NCL using digital signalling.
The infrastructure between Welwyn and Hitchin has been upgraded for the first European Train Control System (ETCS) section on the ECML. In line with the approach taken on NCL, the Welwyn to Hitchin section will initially operate as an overlay (i.e. able to operate with both conventional and digital signalling) to facilitate driver conversion training. The work is being led by Network Rail who, subject to the necessary assurances and regulatory processes, anticipate being able to begin driver train using digital signalling through that section from summer 2026.
3) Work to implement the ETCS on the East Coast Mainline between Huntingdon and Kings Cross is scheduled to be completed in the early 2030s.