Transport Insights

There may be some movement on the opening of passenger services on the first phase of East West Rail, with the delivery of trains said to be “imminent”, albeit that they still have to be tested – and who knows how long that might take?

Certainly not ministers at the Department for Transport.

The last we heard, final modifications to trains – one of a number of issues to be resolved – were “expected to be delivered and tested in the coming months”.

But in response to another question on the issue, from Tory MP Shivani Raja:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 122594, when she expects trains for the first EWR services between Oxford and Milton Keynes to have been sufficiently fully tested for passenger services to commence.

Very junior transport minister Keir Mather said:

Chiltern subleases the trains that will be used on East West Rail from West Midlands Trains. The operator continues to work jointly with the train owner and the industry supply chain on the schedule for the final modifications which are expected to be delivered and tested imminently.

It’s progress of sorts, but note that the question was when the trains might be “sufficiently fully tested for passenger services to commence” but the answer appeared to relate to the delivery, with (perhaps understandably) no timetable for the testing to be completed.

I have said that the bit that is currently built is one of three “connection stages” but East West Rail Co is planning to replace these with ‘delivery phases’, with new stations and sections of the railway “opening as soon as they are ready rather than waiting for the whole route to be completed”.

Good luck with that!