Written question asked by Andy McDonald (Labour) on Wednesday, 20 April 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 25 April 2016 (named day). It was answered by Andrew Jones (Conservative) on Monday, 25 April 2016 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Rail North

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when it is planned that Rail North will take on full responsibility for the Northern and TPE franchises.

Answer: The Partnership agreement that I signed on 20th March 2015 with Rail North Ltd clearly signals our intention that Rail North takes greater devolved responsibility over time. It also sets out the process and criteria by which such decisions may be made. The new devolved management arrangements only started on 1st April 2016 and therefore no timescale or deadline has been set at this stage for full devolution to be achieved. A copy of the Partnership agreement can be found at http://www.railnorth.org/governance/rail-north-dft-partnership/.

Secondary information