Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there are plans to extend the First Light solar-powered railway line pilot in Aldershot to other areas.

The Government supports the increased use of renewable energy to decarbonise the railway, including through funding for innovative schemes such as First Light. As part of its Environmental Sustainability Strategy, Network Rail is working to develop large-scale renewable energy generation, alongside other uses of the rail estate such as increasing biodiversity, carbon offsetting, housing and commercial use. The First Light project will inform this further development.