§ 26. Mr. Tim SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on the provision of commuter services by British Rail of his decision to make InterCity ineligible for public service obligation grant from 1 April.
§ Mr. David MitchellThere is no good reason why commuters using InterCity's fast long-distance services should be subsidised. Service provision of InterCity trains at peak hours will continue to match demand as closely as possible.
Most commuter services into London, including all services on the Chiltern lines, are operated by Network SouthEast and are unaffected by the change.