Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to electrify the north Wales railway line.

We continue to work with the rail industry, the Welsh Government and regional stakeholders, including the North Wales and Mersey Dee Rail Task Force and Transport for the North, to see what more can be accomplished to deliver better journeys for passengers and freight customers in the North Wales corridor.

The rail industry’s Welsh Route Study published in March 2016 looked at the case for electrification of the North Wales Main Line (NWML) - including the link from Chester to Warrington - and concluded it had a benefit to cost ratio of 0.35 to 1 if evaluated on the basis of current train services, or 0.58 to 1 if evaluated against an enhanced level of train services for which funding has not yet been identified.

The Welsh Government has recently with our agreement issued an Invitation to Tender for the next Wales and Borders franchise seeking a step change in the quality of rail travel in Wales and the borders region. The competition for the new franchise for the West Coast, the West Coast Partnership, is also underway. This provides vital connections between London, Crewe, Chester and North Wales. We expect the next franchise to be a far more punctual and reliable service and offer better connections between the towns and cities it serves to enable economic growth.