Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the provision of trains for non-electrified Great Western West of England services from 2018, what is their assessment of whether an Intercity Express Programme Bi-mode can match the speed, performance on gradients, and operational range under diesel power, of the equivalent IC125 High Speed Train.

The Government is committed to improving services to the West of England, including re-signalling the Cornish mainline, to allow for increased frequencies of trains. The forthcoming Direct Award will set out options for rolling stock including for new-build rolling stock. The current order of bi-mode Intercity Express Programme trains is not intended for West of England services and will be deployed elsewhere.