To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2018 to Question 191424 on Railways: Croydon, whether the Rail Enhancements Pipeline contains provisions to expedite the development of a Final Business Case where a clear and urgent economic need for infrastructure improvement exists and has been verified by a local enterprise partnership.

When the Government published guidance in March 2018, we made clear that the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline would be kept under constant review to ensure that decision making about enhancements is agile. Government will take account of affordability and the need to adjust the pipeline to reflect the changing nature of transport, technology and the economy and support the best outcomes for passengers, freight users and the taxpayer. The Government has already committed more than £28m to fully understand the railway opportunities and challenges in the Croydon area, working closely with local partners. We expect to make decisions on the next stage of work in late 2019.