Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the recent announcement regarding the electrification of the Midland Main Line and the TransPennine route, what plans they have to ensure that electric haulage is used whenever possible on both (1) passenger, and (2) freight, trains.

We continue to work through design and development phases of these schemes and have already commenced construction works for electrification of some sections of the routes. We expect rail operators to deliver passenger and freight services with rolling stock that makes the best use of the available infrastructure, while considering operational requirements and the need to reduce industry emissions.

As we decarbonise the railway, we will design the rollout of further electrification of the Midland Main Line and the TransPennine Route Upgrade in such a way to allow the switchover from diesel to electric as soon as possible, although some services will not be able to switch immediately if they use multiple lines.