Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in what stage of the Project Acceleration in a Controlled Environment process the planned electrification of the Hope Valley line between Sheffield and Manchester is; when he expects that stage to be complete; and what the likelihood is of the project’s entry to the next stage.

The industry is in the early stages of planning its next steps to bring the Hope Valley scheme into the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline. Like all projects it will be progressed and developed in line with the principles of Project Acceleration in a Controlled Environment (PACE), which is the usual approach used by the industry.