Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential use of discontinuous electrification as a means to decarbonise the rail network.

The Government expects electrification to play an important role in our programme to achieve our Net Zero 2050 target and improve the passenger experience.

Overhead Line Electrification will remain the best value for money option for some lines, for example where there is high speed, high volume of passenger trains, or high freight use; but other lines may represent better value for money by electrifying less and utilising hybrid electric and battery power trains. East West Rail has recently launched a non-statutory consultation which sets out a preference for discontinuous electrification and a final decision will be informed by the consultation responses.