Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to bring forward plans for hydrogen trains.

The Government supports the use of new technologies and further electrification to decarbonise the railway and help us meet our net zero carbon emissions by 2050 target. Network Rail is currently working to determine which parts of the network could be best suited to hydrogen or battery trains and which could be best suited to further electrification.

The Department supports development of rail hydrogen technology and has contributed £750,000 to facilitate trials of the UK’s first hydrogen-powered train, HydroFLEX.