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Written question asked by Lord Harper (Conservative) on Thursday, 24 July 2025, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 7 August 2025. It was answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (Labour) on Monday, 28 July 2025 on behalf of the Department for Transport.


Railways: Nationalisation

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to paragraph 5.80 of the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June, what estimates or forecasts have been made of (1) the rail passenger services subsidy, (2) passenger ridership, (3) passenger revenue, and (4) efficiencies and savings through public ownership, for each of the financial years until 2029–30.

Answer

Rail passenger services subsidy is expected to reduce by over 50 per cent from £2.4 billion in 2024-25.

The Spending Review settlement assumes that passenger revenue increases by an average of 6 per cent per annum over the period.

Public ownership will result in a reduction in the fees paid to private sector operators and enable efficiencies to be delivered through horizontal integration of operators. Costs are assumed to increase by less than revenue each year, resulting in the net subsidy reduction.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL9885
Session
2024-26
Related items
Spending Review 2025
Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Command papers
House of Commons
House of Lords
Subjects
Railways Nationalisation
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk