Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ask the Office of Rail and Road to re-evaluate the open access application by Hull Trains to operate services between London King's Cross and Sheffield, in light of the reductions to East Midlands Railway’s Intercity timetable.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Hull Trains’ previous application to operate services between London and Sheffield was rejected by the Office or Rail and Road (ORR) in July 2025 due to concerns over capacity, performance and financial impacts. We respect the ORR’s decision on this.
Any Open Access operator may apply to operate new services, but this would be a commercial decision for the operator to take. Under the current system, any new application would be subject to full and independent review by the ORR. In the future, Great British Railways will be able to decide the best use of network capacity and take decisions as a directing mind.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Mass Transit Taskforce's remit includes tram-train projects.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The independently-led Mass Transit Taskforce will consider all modes of mass transit and emerging technologies. This includes Tram-train projects and other mass transit modes, including bus‑based, light rail‑based and hybrid systems.
Asked by: Lord Redwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual tax cost of exempting rail operators from the climate change levy on their purchase of electricity.
Answered by Lord Livermore
Energy supplies used in certain forms of transport are exempt from the main rate of Climate Change Levy (CCL). This includes electricity used to electrify rail lines, light a railway carriage transporting passengers and light the cab interior of a freight train transporting goods.
Information on the estimated cost of tax reliefs, including CCL exemptions, is published on GOV.UK and can be found in the annual statistics on tax reliefs. However, it is not possible to provide the annual tax cost of exempting rail operators from CCL, as HMRC does not collect this information.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average cost per mile has been for tram extensions completed in England since 2015.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The costs per mile for new local transport infrastructure in England can vary significantly based on numerous factors, including specific project conditions and requirements, geography, urban density, and land values.
Responsibility for light rail is devolved in England, where each local authority is responsible for the operations and financial sustainability of its network. This includes for upgrades and any potential extensions to existing systems.
The Government recognises that mass transit systems, including light rail, are among the most complex of local transport interventions, which is why an independent Mass Transit Taskforce has been established to help city regions deliver mass transit schemes faster, at lower cost, and with greater confidence.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of tram network extensions in (a) Manchester, (b) Nottingham and (c) Sheffield on levels of employment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Responsibility for light rail is devolved in England, where each local authority owns and is responsible for the operations and financial sustainability of its own network. This includes any potential extensions to existing systems.
As such, local authorities are best placed to identify possible opportunities and the potential benefits of such schemes.
The Government recognises that mass transit systems, including trams, are among the most complex of local transport interventions, which is why an independent Mass Transit Taskforce has been established to help city regions deliver mass transit schemes faster, at lower cost, and with greater confidence.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (HL425), what is the estimated cost of full electrification of the East West Rail route compared to the lower capital cost of discontinuous electrification.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The costs of electrifying the full East West Rail route versus partial (discontinuous) electrification will depend on a number of factors including the final scope for the railway’s design and location of overhead line equipment. This is yet to be finalised and will be developed in light of feedback received in the East West Rail Company’s latest public consultation, which closed on 9 June this year.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which new (a) road and (b) rail schemes have been (i) signed off and (ii) cancelled in the East of England since July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 8 July 2025, and following the Spending Review, the Secretary of State set out the list of funded road schemes and rail enhancements schemes. These included those schemes that remained under consideration for future progression, providing transparency and certainty for stakeholders and the supply chain.
For rail schemes in the East of England, the Secretary of State’s announcement included the continued improvement of East Coast performance through digital signalling, delivery of a new Cambridge South Station, and investment to drive forward the delivery of East-West Rail to unlock growth across the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor. The previous government cancelled the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement and Haughley Junction upgrade at Spending Review 2021.
The list of rail schemes has been further updated in the latest iteration of the UK infrastructure Pipeline, published by NISTA last March, to include new planned investment at Wixams Station to support the operation of the new Universal theme park. In addition to this Pipeline, Network Rail continues to regularly update and publish its Enhancements Delivery Plan each quarter, providing visibility on schemes already in delivery. Rail enhancements are managed as part of a dynamic and adaptable portfolio and as such we will continue to consider options for enhancements for future funding in the region that could strongly support the government’s priorities.
Since July 2024 the following new East of England roads schemes have received approval: A10 West Winch housing access scheme (OBC approved April 2025) and A130 Fairglen (FBC approved Jan 2025). Additionally, the following have been committed to within the funded RIS3 programme: A47 Thickthorn Junction; A47 Great Ouse Refurbishment (renewal); and A120 Wix Bypass (renewal).
The following East of England roads schemes have been withdrawn from the programme either for affordability reasons or at the request of the local authority: A17 Pullover junction; A13/A126 East facing slips (Thurrock); A47 Wansford to Sutton; A12 Chelmsford to A120; and A47 Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Junction.
In the case of the A12 Chelmsford to A120, this had been repeatedly deferred by the previous government, including most recently in March 2024, which added to the overall costs of the scheme.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2026 to Question 5446, if she will list the specific transport projects, in addition to the light rail infrastructure trial in Coventry, that have utilised the proportionate and flexible approach to approvals for innovative activity since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A proportionate and flexible approach enables the department to use the most appropriate methodology to assess the value for money, including for an innovative activity, considering risk versus reward. Projects cannot meaningfully be defined as only innovative or not innovative, there is a spectrum that is considered in a proportionate and flexible way.
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 27 May 2026 to Question 2801 on Transport: Innovation, how many projects have had their business case approvals process adapted to support innovative activity since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Departmental guidance allows for a proportionate and flexible approach to approvals, with innovative activity being one of a number of reasons such flexibilities are relevant in any given case. The recently published National Audit Office report Innovation in Transport systematically looked at the department's approach to innovation and included an example of this proportionate and flexible approach when the department reviewed the business case for trialling a new approach to light rail infrastructure in Coventry.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the timetable for completion of the High Speed Rail Phase 2b to take traffic.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The government is taking forward the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill to deliver the Northern Powerhouse Rail route into Manchester via Manchester Airport. We have not reversed the previous government’s decision to cancel HS2 Phase 2 and will adapt the bill to deliver only the section of route necessary for Northern Powerhouse Rail.
In light of lessons from HS2, we are carefully developing detailed plans for delivery. However, from our work to date, we expect major construction works for the Liverpool to Manchester section of the route to commence in the mid-2030s and continue into the 2040s.