Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish his Department's assessment of the economic cost to Greater Manchester arising from the pause in the Manchester to Leeds electrification project in each year to 2019.

This Government is committed to electrification and to delivering its benefits in contrast to the lack of ambition of the previous Labour government which managed to electrify just 10 miles of railway in 13 years.

In addition, the Department is already delivering on various rail projects that are already underway that will bring benefits to the north west and beyond, including:

• The remaining phases of Northwest Electrification (including Manchester-Preston; Preston-Blackpool; Preston-Stalybridge)

• A redeveloped Manchester Victoria station completed by September 2015

• A rebuilt Allerton Depot by September 2015 to provide capacity for even more electric trains in the North.

• And the two new franchises commencing in April 2016 will:

• Get rid of the Pacer trains by the end of 2019

• Increase capacity by 36% overall in the peak to Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield by end 2019 (irrespective of when TransPennine Electrification east of Stalybridge is delivered).

• Provide an extra 200 services each weekday;

• Double the service to 2 trains per hour from Manchester to Macclesfield and Manchester to Chester from Dec 2017 and Bolton to Stockport via Manchester by December 2019.