Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (HL425), what is the estimated cost of full electrification of the East West Rail route compared to the lower capital cost of discontinuous electrification.

The costs of electrifying the full East West Rail route versus partial (discontinuous) electrification will depend on a number of factors including the final scope for the railway’s design and location of overhead line equipment. This is yet to be finalised and will be developed in light of feedback received in the East West Rail Company’s latest public consultation, which closed on 9 June this year.