Rail Investment

Stephen Williams Excerpts
Thursday 25th November 2010

(13 years, 12 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Stephen Williams Portrait Stephen Williams (Bristol West) (LD)
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I welcome the certainty that electrification out of Paddington will continue as far as Didcot. However, does the Secretary of State agree that it is a reasonable economic assumption that a continuous project of rolling out electrification through to Swindon, Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway and through the Severn tunnel is likely to provide better value for money than a piecemeal project where engineering teams, recruitment contracts and so on have to be reassembled?

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.