Written questions by Morris.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Network Rail's (a) board and (b) wider governance arrangements.

a) In line with corporate governance best practice Network Rail (NR) appoints an independent company to undertake regular reviews of the effectiveness of the Board. A review is currently in progress. The Secretary of State and Rail Minister will meet regularly with the Acting Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Network Rail to discuss the performance of the company. b) DfT and Network Rail have a Framework Agreement in place setting out how the Department and Network Rail interact in terms of corporate governance and financial management. DfT and Network Rail will be reviewing the Framework Agreement to ensure that the governance arrangements will be fit for purpose as the rail industry is reformed.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the rail network enhancements pipeline.

The Rail Enhancements Portfolio has been managed in line with the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline policy since 2018. As part of this Government’s refreshed approach to capital investment in the transport network, we expect to consider all aspects of our spending plans and principles to ensure that they deliver a unified system for railways; bringing together infrastructure with services for the benefit of passengers and the taxpayer.

What steps she is taking to help reduce overcrowding on the Durham Coast Line during peak periods.

Rail North Partnership (RNP), through which the department jointly manages Northern Trains’ contract with Transport for the North, monitors operators’ planned train deployment to ensure this falls within the requirement on them to match capacity to demand. While we have no evidence passengers’ safety is being compromised, RNP will discuss the loading on Durham Coast services with Northern and ensure it takes the actions open to it to meet its targets

If she will make an assessment of the impact of overcrowding on the Durham Coast Line during peak periods on the health and safety of passengers.

Rail North Partnership (RNP), through which the department jointly manages Northern Trains’ contract with Transport for the North, monitors operators’ planned train deployment to ensure this falls within the requirement on them to match capacity to demand. While we have no evidence passengers’ safety is being compromised, RNP will discuss the loading on Durham Coast services with Northern and ensure it takes the actions open to it to meet its targets

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of expediting the application by Grand Central Rail for four daily calls at Seaham train station on Grand Central's North East services.

Access to the rail network is ultimately a decision for the ORR in its role as regulator for the rail industry. We will continue to work with ORR through the consultation process.