Theresa Villiers, Minister of State for Transport, will appear before the House of Lords EU Internal Market, Energy and Transport Committee today.
The Committee’s inquiry is investigating the development of international rail passenger services in the EU, using the Channel Tunnel as a case study.
Ms Villiers will be confronted by the findings of the inquiry so far, with a number of witnesses already having given evidence, including Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn.
Topics she is likely to be questioned on include:
- Whether the Government thinks that new international passenger services to Europe will grow significantly in the next few years
- The role of the Department for Transport in any negotiations regarding Deutsche Bahn’s bid to run a rail service through the Channel Tunnel
- How the Government can help improve the pan-European ticket-buying process for UK passengers
- If the Government have considered any alternative arrangements for the current governance of the Channel Tunnel.
The evidence session will take place at 4.05pm this afternoon, and can be watched live.
