CHILDREN are being 'shaken out of their beds in the middle of the night' because of noise from freight trains running through north Oxford, according to a city MP.

Layla Moran asked transport minister Jo Johnson on Thursday whether he could discuss problems with the trains and whether they could be monitored and their speeds reduced.

But Mr Johnson said that was reliant on whether Network Rail decided to reduce them.

Ms Moran asked Mr Johnson: "Residents in North Oxford are gravely concerned about the increase in rail freight and particularly the possibility of the line being used to construct HS2.

"Children are already shaken out of their beds in the middle of the night because of freight trains.

"Will the Minister consent to meet me to discuss the concerns and, critically, the solutions, which include monitoring and speed reductions for the trains?"

Mr Johnson said he 'obviously sympathised' with residents' concerns but said the Government is 'committed to getting freight off roads and onto rail to realise the environmental and economic benefits of rail freight'.

He added: "However, the Department does not specify the level of freight services on the network, as that is a commercial matter for the freight operating companies and is a function of market demand. The Oxford area is at capacity during the day, although the Oxford corridor capacity improvement scheme will deliver two additional freight train paths an hour in each direction."