Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on funding for electrification of the UK rail network in relation to the 2040 target to remove all diesel-only trains from the network.

The Net Zero Strategy published last week reiterated the government’s commitment to deliver a net zero rail network by 2050, with the ambition to remove all diesel-only trains by 2040. Earlier this year, the government announced a £317 million investment to electrify and upgrade the Transpennine route between York and Church Fenton and a £78 million investment to electrify the route between Wigan and Bolton.

We are currently carrying out the Spending Review which will set the Department for Transports’ resource and capital budgets for the next 3 years (2022-23 to 2024-25). This Spending Review concludes on 27th October alongside the Autumn Budget 2021.