Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential economic impact of electrifying the train track from Telford to (a) Wolverhampton and (b) Shrewsbury.

With an indicative cost of ~£270m, Midlands Connect, the sub-national transport body which researches, develops and progresses transport projects in the Midlands, view electrification of this route as prohibitively expensive.

However, they are refreshing the Business Case for line speed improvements to this route, and my officials are in regular contact with Midlands Connect to support them in this work. The Minister of State for Rail expects to receive an updated Business Case later this year.