Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December to Question 117877, what assessment he has made of the effect on air quality of using bi-mode trains on the Midland Mainline on the basis that the line beyond Kettering will not be electrified.

We are committed to improving journeys for passengers on the Midland Main Line, which is why we are delivering biggest upgrade of the route since it was completed in 1870. The upgrade will enable increased passenger capacity and reduced journey times, and will see modern trains introduced across the route, including a fleet of brand new bi-mode intercity trains from 2022. The Government has made this decision to deliver benefits for intercity passengers sooner than would otherwise be possible.

In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, the appraisal of the effect of using bi-modes considered the monetary valuation of changes in NO_x emissions. The results of this appraisal show that compared to the do-minimum scenario, which was continued diesel operation with the existing fleet for 10 years and then the introduction of bi-modes in 2030/31, introducing bi-modes earlier to replace diesels delivers £6m of NO_x emission savings over the 60-year appraisal period, whilst fully electric trains would have delivered £20m of monetised NO_x savings over the same period.