Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost of the electrification of the remainder of the South Wales mainline to be.

This Government acknowledges that its predecessors have short-changed Wales for years on rail investment, including because of HS2. The South East Wales Transport Commission and North Wales Transport Commission provide the government with key recommendations for rail enhancements in these regions that will boost economic growth and provide good jobs and housing.

The UK and Welsh governments have agreed a prioritisation of rail improvement projects developed by the Wales Rail Board which will inform work in the run up to the Spring Spending Review.