Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under which circumstances Southern Railway's franchise would be withdrawn.
Claire Perry, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport: Schedule 10.2 of the TSGN Franchise Agreement (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/488198/tsgn-franchise-agreement.pdf p.506) specifies how this franchise can be terminated by the Department.