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.

Great Western Railway (GWR) is introducing additional diesel units from the end of this year. This will enable older diesel units to be retired and provide more resilience across the network. The Department continues to work with the industry to develop plans to move towards decarbonisation in the longer term.

Challenger 3 will have the Caterpillar CV12 9A engine which produces 1200hp.

Challenger 3 will have the Caterpillar CV12 9A engine which produces 1200hp.

We remain committed to phasing out diesel-only trains by 2040, and have electrified almost 800 miles of track in the past four years alone to support that goal.

What recent progress the Government has made on phasing out diesel-only trains by 2040.

The hon. Lady highlights exactly why electrification of our railways is so important and also the importance of British research, British innovation and British businesses’ involvement in the railway sector. On the point about electrification, I mentioned earlier that we had included almost 800 miles in England. I remind the House of the importance not just of electrification, but of the fact that it was this Government who, since 2010, have electrified more than 1,200 miles of rail, compared with just 63 under Labour.

The Minister is aware that the Global Centre of Rail Excellence being developed in Onllwyn in my Neath constituency is the first and only purpose-built UK rail test facility, which will test the capability and reliability of alternative diesel rail technologies. Will the Minister add “test British” to her “buy British” approach, so that all new and upgraded rolling stock endure a fault-free running period before being introduced into service in the UK?

Our Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) set out our ambition to remove all diesel-only trains (passenger and freight) from the network by 2040. We will work closely with operators and manufacturers on deploying the most appropriate traction technology, this includes looking at alternate fuels including renewable hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO), hydrogen, battery or bi-mode and hybrid traction technology.

In our TDP we have also committed to introducing a rail freight growth target - which should not become a ceiling - as well as incentivising the early take up of low carbon traction for rail freight. Separately, trials are being undertaken by freight operators to assess the use of renewable HVO as a short-term replacement for traditional diesel used in the interim during transition to zero emission alternatives.

All trains, when well-utilised, have a low carbon footprint compared to alternative transport modes.

In our Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) we have committed to working with industry to modernise fares ticketing and retail to encourage a shift to rail and cleaner and greener transport journeys.

Our ambition is to remove all diesel-only trains (passenger and freight) from the network by 2040. As we decarbonise the railway, we must develop individual decarbonisation schemes carefully to ensure that they deliver both decarbonisation and other benefits, as well as value for money for the taxpayer. This will involve working closely with operators and manufacturers on assessing and deploying the most appropriate traction technology, this includes electrification, alternate fuels (such as HVO), as well as hydrogen, battery or bi-mode and hybrid traction technology.

Avanti West Coast is replacing its current diesel powered trains with a new electric and electric/diesel hybrid bimodal fleet which will start operating in 2022/23. With the ability to switch seamlessly between electric and diesel power, the new fleet will ensure that there is no longer diesel operation on electrified lines in support of a drive to a cleaner environment.

We are currently in negotiations for a new National Rail Contract on the Chiltern route which, if successful, will include plans for improving the environmental impact of stations and trains, including at Marylebone station.

A hybrid trial is currently underway to determine whether this is a feasible option for more environmentally friendly rolling stock on this route. Additionally, we are exploring options for procuring greener rolling stock on the route, and the environmental impact is an important factor in this process.

HS2 has a Strategic Objective to design, build and operate HS2 to reduce carbon. The project is committed to limiting its environmental effects to those reported in the Environmental Statement.

Air quality emission requirements have been set for all construction vehicles and plant & machinery, and targets are in place to go beyond these requirements as technology improves. Deployment of low and zero carbon emitting equipment, including the use of fully electric, solar, hybrid and hydrogen technologies, continues across all HS2 sites.

HS2 Ltd is actively working with its contractors and supply chain to develop evidence in low carbon alternatives (hybrid, electric, biofuels, hydrogen, etc.) as a replacement for conventional diesel across its works (including on-road, plant and machinery as well as movements of material by rail). These innovations are aimed at building a better understanding of alternative fuels and technologies. As evidence is built, results will continue to be shared across the construction industry and other sectors.

HS2 Ltd continues to challenge its contractors and supply chain to take up cleaner technologies, fuels and materials where independent evidence on the benefits exist. The majority of the UK’s Rail Freight Operating Companies are part of that supply chain and are actively engaged in testing and developing their fleet in regard to safe acceptance of such alternatives, together with ensuring biofuels used are in line with the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, which regulates biofuels used for transport and non-road mobile machinery.

I will answer my hon. Friend. East West Rail, the company behind the new line, is aiming to deliver an entirely zero-carbon railway. It will be considering conventional and emerging technology solutions for powering trains, which could be part-electric and part-hydrogen or battery in the future, for example, so that services that operate along the whole length of the route are zero carbon.

As chair of the all-party parliamentary environment group, I am incredibly supportive of the Government’s ambition to phase out diesel trains across the entire UK network by 2040. East West Rail is soon to build a railway line in my constituency, due for completion in 2030, but it is not being built as an electrified line, and my constituents are very worried that they might end up with a new diesel railway line. Will my right hon. Friend, or my hon. Friend the Member for Redditch (Rachel Maclean)—I am not sure who is answering—work with me and the Treasury to make sure that East West Rail is aligned with the Government’s ambition to phase out diesel trains?

Our forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP) will set out the scale and pace of rail decarbonisation necessary to deliver a net zero transport system by 2050. Decisions on funding for decarbonisation schemes and subsequent allocations will be made in the usual way to ensure that they are value for money and affordable.

High-level estimates of the cost of decarbonising the railway made by Network Rail and the rail industry will inform the government's approach to rail decarbonisation, which will be set out in the Department’s forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan. The costs of individual schemes will be assessed separately to ensure value for money and affordability.

Rail is a comparatively green mode of transport, but the Government is working to further reduce emissions and reduce the impact of air and noise pollution.

Diesel freight and passenger trains in Great Britain created 1,788 kilotonnes of CO₂e last year (April 2019-April 2020). The Government will reduce these emissions through our ambition to phase out diesel-only trains by 2040 and deliver a net-zero transport system by 2050.

The Department is working to gain a more comprehensive understanding of air pollution in stations by funding a new £4.5 million air quality monitoring network. This will be rolled out over the next three years, with air quality monitors installed in around 100 stations across England and Wales from summer 2021. Once established, the network will help to identify priority locations where air quality improvement measures are most needed.

Noise from the railway can have an impact on the lives of the people who live along its routes, and the industry is working to minimise the impact of noise from the railway on its neighbours and on passengers. The Department supports periodic strategic noise mapping to identify the most sensitive areas on and around the rail network that are exposed to railway noise. We assess the sensitive areas as described in the Noise Action Plan: Railways - this plan is updated every 5 years and was last updated in 2019.