Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Twist Excerpts

Wednesday 1st November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Laura Smith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of the effect on the Welsh economy of the Government’s decision not to electrify the main line to Swansea.

[Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab)]

4. What recent assessment he has made of the effect on the Welsh economy of the Government’s decision not to electrify the main line to Swansea.

[Alex Norris (Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)]

15. What recent assessment he has made of the effect on the Welsh economy of the Government’s decision not to electrify the main line to Swansea.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alun Cairns]

The hon. Lady will be well aware that advances in bimodal technology mean that electrification between Cardiff and Swansea would not save passengers any significant journey time. She makes an interesting point about north Wales, and I hope that she is aware of the £43 million of signalling improvement that has taken place in north Wales to improve speed and reliability along the line. In addition, the Crewe hub offers great potential for bringing the benefits of HS2, a major UK rail investment programme, to north Wales as well as to the north of England.

[Liz Twist]

What will the Secretary of State be doing to create a more competitive and cost-effective environment for rail infrastructure in Wales?

[Alun Cairns]

A major multibillion investment programme is benefiting rail passengers in Wales. Earlier this year, the Public Accounts Committee asked us to reassess the electrification programme on a stage-by-stage basis, and that was what we did. We are therefore using the latest advances in modern technology to ensure that passengers in Swansea and west Wales get the benefits of the most modern trains on the network immediately, rather than perhaps waiting for the traditional technology of electric-only trains.