Chiltern Railways: Capacity

Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, the Member of Parliament for Solihull West and Shirley, asked the Government to take steps to help expedite the approval of additional trains to increase capacity on Chiltern Railways. In response, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Simon Lightwood, stated that officials will continue to work with Chiltern Railways to support the delivery of its fleet renewal programme, which aims to improve passenger experience and drive sustainable growth across the region. Lightwood explained that Chiltern Railways is exploring options to expedite its procurement of additional trains while following robust assurance steps to ensure a strong business case that delivers value for money for the taxpayer. Dr Shastri-Hurst followed up by noting that Chiltern Railways has the oldest fleet of any operator, at over 30 years of age, and that additional capacity is needed to meet the demands of his constituents in Solihull West and Shirley. While welcoming the Department's commitment to reducing overcrowding by moving more rolling stock to where it is needed in the network, he asked the Minister to expand on the specific steps the Department is taking to reduce overcrowding on the Chiltern main line. In response, Lightwood explained that Chiltern's business case is assessing both like-for-like and enhanced capacity rolling stock options. The like-for-like option would offer similar capacity to the current fleet but with more modern trains to deliver a better customer proposition. The enhanced capacity option would enable Chiltern to run more services to relieve crowding. Both options are still under consideration, and a final decision will be made taking into consideration value for money and affordability.