Oral Answers to Questions

Baroness Morgan of Cotes Excerpts

Thursday 15th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We are better informed about Trixi mirrors and we are grateful to the Minister for that.

[Nicky Morgan (Loughborough) (Con)]

9. What steps he is taking to ensure the economic sustainability of the rail network.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

12. What steps he is taking to ensure the economic sustainability of the rail network.

[The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mrs Theresa Villiers)]

Despite the deficit, the Government are investing £18 billion in the railway, supporting projects such as Crossrail, Thameslink, electrification and extra carriages on crowded routes. We are also determined to get the cost of running the railways down, and we are putting together a reform package to deliver this which will draw on the report produced by Sir Roy McNulty.

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank the Minister for her reply. The Government have already announced improvements to the midland main line, which it is hoped will result in line speed improvements, but there is still a very strong business case for full electrification. What hope can she give me and many other MPs along the midland main line route that the Government will consider full electrification, particularly in the light of the HS2 route having being published so recently?

[Mrs Villiers]

I can say that, yes, we will be consider whether the midland main line can be electrified as part of the work in HS2 control period 5, but we will also have to consider competing projects such as the northern hub or the electrification of the trans-Pennine route.