West Coast Railway Line

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many additional seats his Department expects will be created on the west coast main line by the conversion of one first class carriage to standard

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class following the award of the west coast main line franchise to Virgin Trains. [203653]

Stephen Hammond: An additional 5,500 standard class seats will be provided per day on the west coast main line.

Mrs Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the additional capacity created by Virgin Trains converting one first class carriage to standard class on west coast mainline was factored into the HS2 business case issued in October 2013. [203654]

Mr Goodwill: The Strategic Case for HS2, published in October 2013 considers conversion of first class carriages into standard class as an alternative to HS2. More details can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rail-alternatives-to-hs2