To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 29 June (WA 22), when the procurement process for 202 new diesel train carriages will be advanced sufficiently for an order to be placed. [HL5419]

On 23 July the Government announced a major £1.1 billion programme of rail electrification on the Great Western Main Line and the line between Liverpool and Manchester. This radically affects the requirements for rolling stock over the next decade.

There will be far less need for diesel trains and a greater requirement for electric trains, as a result of which the procurement of 202 new diesel train carriages has now been superseded. The Government will publish a new rolling stock plan in the autumn, taking account of the changed circumstances.