The Department routinely engages with disabled people and disabled people’s organisations in the development of its policies, including those related to highways, streets, and public transport, in line with this Government’s published accessibility commitments.

Rolling stock leasing costs were contracted between the respective operator and owner as part of the franchising process. The department continues to monitor rolling stock related costs closely throughout the life of the contracts to ensure that they are in line with what has been agreed and that what is proposed will deliver benefits to passengers.

In line with our published guidance on how to assess costs and benefits of government schemes and policies, DfT consider a whole life asset approach for estimating rolling stock appraisals.

The Department’s value for money framework for completing assessments and communicating to decision makers can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-value-for-money-framework.

The Call Option was exercised by the Department. However, further commercial discussions with the rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs) led to a revised improved offer which enabled the Call Option to be withdrawn.

The Office of Rail and Road publishes annual statistics on rail industry finances here:

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/finance/rail-industry-finance/

These statistics show that total rolling stock costs paid by those operators under franchise contract with the Department for Transport were £2.534bn in 2019/20.

However, please note that:

During 2019/20 these costs were not borne directly by the public purse as the train operators were classified to the private sector in that year. They were reclassified to the public sector with effect from 1 April 2020, as a consequence of the emergency agreements introduced at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Rolling stock costs include not only unit rentals, but also a range of support services such as train maintenance and stabling, not all of which are provided by the lessor of the train fleet. No estimates are available for later years.

I met with the main rolling stock companies to discuss how they can support industry and the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. These meetings, and those with officials, have included sensitive discussions around leasing arrangements, liabilities and also future opportunities that will continue to deliver benefits to passengers and the public purse alike.

Private sector investment in rolling stock will continue. Great British Railways will be able to take a strategic overview while private sector Train Operating Companies will retain responsibility for procuring value from the market in respect of rolling stock to meet service requirements and improve the passenger experience in reliability accessibility and comfort.

The government will take forward work to assess options to ensure reliable delivery and value for money for the taxpayer and users of rolling stock. This work will also consider supply chain sustainability and how to sustain and generate high-value jobs and economic activity.

Under the Emergency Agreements that were introduced early in the Covid-19 pandemic, train operators have been reclassified from the private to the public sector for statistical purposes from April 2020. As such, all rolling stock costs incurred by operators now represent spending by the public sector.

During the 2020/21 financial year, total rolling stock costs for train operators working under contracts with the Department for Transport were approximately £2.1bn. This remains a provisional figure as full audited accounts for the year are not yet available.

Most rolling stock on the network was financed and procured by the private sector rolling stock companies to meet the needs of train operators as part of their bids in respect of the former franchise process. Rolling stock was then leased to private sector train operators, although a wide range of lease terms are in use and contracts can often cover services such as train maintenance and stabling, as well as train rentals.