Railways

(asked on 21st April 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following their report Decarbonising Transport: Setting the Challenge, published in March, what consideration they have given to reinstating plans to (1) electrify rail lines, and (2) prioritise rail routes, (a) between Cardiff and Swansea, (b) in the East Midlands, and (c) in the Lake District.


Answered by
Baroness Vere of Norbiton Portrait
Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 5th May 2020

Electrification will play a significant role in our programme to decarbonise the railway. Network Rail’s ongoing work developing the Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy will inform decisions about whether electrification or new technologies are the right option for all parts of the network where diesel trains currently run.

In deciding which schemes to take forward at each stage of the decarbonisation programme, the Department will consider the environmental impact as well as factors such as affordability; readiness of a scheme to proceed; deliverability; the disruption that might be experienced by passengers or freight operators during works; and availability of suitable rolling stock.

Reticulating Splines