To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost (a) per mile and (b) in total of electrifying (i) the Great Western Line and (ii) the Midland Main Line. (304294)

On 23 July the Department for Transport announced the electrification of the Great Western Main Line between London, Reading, Oxford, Newbury, Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea at an estimated cost of £1 billion, including contingency and optimism bias. The total length of track being electrified is around 640 single track miles, so the estimated cost is around £1.6 million per single track mile.

On the Midland Main Line, a clear scope of electrification work and timescale for delivery has not yet been agreed, so the Department has not yet been able to make an estimate of the cost.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of jobs which would be created (a) directly and (b) indirectly as a result of the electrification of (i) the Great Western Line and (ii) the Midland Main Line. (304295)

On 23 July the Department for Transport announced the electrification of the Great Western Main Line between London, Reading, Oxford, Newbury, Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea. Delivery of the scheme is a matter for Network Rail, and the number of jobs created will depend on the delivery mechanisms which they select. Until these are finalised, it is not possible to estimate the number of jobs which will be created.

No decision has been made on whether to take forward the electrification of the Midland Main Line or, if it is taken forward, on the timescale for delivery or the delivery mechanisms. It is therefore not possible to estimate the number of jobs which would be created.