Rail Investment

Martin Horwood Excerpts
Thursday 25th November 2010

(13 years, 11 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Hammond of Runnymede Portrait Mr Hammond
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The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. I should make it clear that we will make the decision on the total extent of electrification of the great western main line long before the physical work begins.

Martin Horwood Portrait Martin Horwood (Cheltenham) (LD)
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I welcome this statement, which is clearly overwhelmingly good news for rail customers and for the environment. However, may I also press for full electrification to Wales and the west country, and ask for the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s new methodology for calculating the future cost of carbon to be fully factored into the Department’s necessarily careful evaluation of the business case?

Lord Hammond of Runnymede Portrait Mr Hammond
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My hon. Friend makes a fair point. We have made a commitment to changing the formula that we use to assess transport projects to reflect the latest values of carbon.