Asked by: Lord Shutt of Greetland (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by the Secretary of State for Transport, Mr Patrick McLoughlin, on 25 June (HC Deb, col 1068) about Network Rail in respect of the trans-Pennine route that "current work on electrification will be paused because we need to be much more ambitious for that route" , whether their plans for electrification are to be combined with their ambitions for High Speed 3; and, if so, when they expect electrification to take place.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Electrification of the NorthTranspennine line east of Stalybridge is paused pending receipt of Sir Peter Hendy's re-planning proposals this autumn. This is a pause, not a stop, to ensure that it happens at the right time to deliver the most benefit. The government’s enhancements programme is ambitious and stretching and it needs to be re-planned to ensure it remains deliverable and affordable. The replan should take into consideration the plans for the Northern Powerhouse / TransNorth to ensure that we are delivering the best solution overall.
Asked by: Lord Shutt of Greetland (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why their policy to pause rail electrification was not reflected in the debate in the House on 17 June on transport in the north of England in the context of the Minister's comment on the relationship between electrification and Government's northern powerhouse aspirations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The delay to Transpennine electrification was already known, and therefore I didn’t specifically mention the delay in my opening. As it was in the public domain, several Lords referenced the delay in their speeches. I acknowledged the concerns about the delay in my closing speech and have written to the Lords in more detail to address their concerns.
Asked by: Lord Shutt of Greetland (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by the Secretary of State for Transport, Mr Patrick McLoughlin, on 25 June (HC Deb, cols 1067–8), how long the pause is expected to last before the TransPennine rail line is electrified.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Electrification of the TransPennine line east of Stalybridge is paused pending receipt of Sir Peter Hendy's re-planning proposals this autumn.
Asked by: Lord Shutt of Greetland (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by the Secretary of State for Transport, Mr Patrick McLoughlin, on 25 June (HC Deb, cols 1067–8), how long the pause is expected to last before the Midland Main Line railway route is electrified.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Electrification of the Midland Main Line is paused pending receipt of Sir Peter's Hendy's proposals for replanning the enhancements programme.