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Written question asked by Shivani Raja (Conservative) on Tuesday, 27 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 29 January 2026. It was answered by Keir Mather (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 February 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Railways: East Midlands

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of diesel operation on the Midland Main Line north of Leicester on emissions and air quality in a) Leicester and b) the East Midlands.

Answer

Prior to the decision being made to pause the Midland Main Line Electrification programme as part of Spending Review 2025, the benefits of the scheme were being assessed. The benefits of fully electrifying the Midland Main Line (MML) are predominately those that would deliver greener transport, such as reducing carbon and improving local air quality, particularly at stations, through trains using electric traction rather than diesel.

Whilst not as clean as fully electric trains, the new intercity bi-mode trains currently being introduced by East Midland’s Railway are much cleaner and will contribute to improving air quality on the route.

Station managers in areas with poor air quality are required to develop and implement Air Quality Improvement Plans (AQIPs) which should outline feasible measures to improve air quality. The AQIPs for Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, and Sheffield stations on the MML have been developed and must be reviewed and updated annually.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
108855
Session
2024-26
Subjects
East Midlands Railways Diesel engines Midland main line
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk