asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 3 June (WA 48–49), in the light of the effect of passenger numbers on rolling stock and its availability, whether they will review their statement that rolling stock is a matter for train operators to manage. [HL3979]

Train operators make the decisions about the deployment of rolling stock and have been pleased to do so. While recent franchise agreements list the vehicles in the franchise, they also require the franchisees to take account of changes in demand and levels of crowding.

Discussions are under way with train operating companies regarding the provision of extra capacity to meet the commitments in the high level output specification.