Rolling Stock

Mrs. Villiers
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many of the 1,300 extra carriages referred to in the Government’s Rail White Paper of July 2007 have been ordered; and on which lines they will be operating.

Chris Mole
[holding answer 23 November 2009]: As I set out in my answer of 14 October 2009, Official Report, columns 895-96W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Middleton (Jim Dobbin), so far there have been 543 new rail carriages ordered by the following train operators:

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|TOC              |Class|Type  |Number of vehicles|
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|Southern         |377  |EMU—DV|48                |
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|London Midland   |350/2|EMU   |148               |
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|London Midland   |172  |DMU   |69                |
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|Chiltern         |172  |DMU   |8                 |
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|Southern         |377  |EMU—DV|44                |
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|Virgin West Coast|390  |EMU   |106               |
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|NXEA             |379  |EMU   |120               |
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On 23 July, the Government announced a major new electrification programme which radically affects the requirements for train rolling stock over the next decade. In particular, there will be far less need for diesel trains and a greater requirement for electric trains. The Department for Transport will publish a new rolling stock plan in the autumn, setting out a revised strategy.

Mrs. Villiers
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he expects to issue the rolling stock statement which the Secretary of State indicated in July would be published in the autumn of this year; and whether this statement will cover both the Intercity Express programme and the 1,300 extra carriages referred to in the Government’s Rail White Paper of July 2007.

Chris Mole
[holding answer 23 November 2009]: As set out in my answer to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) of 26 October 2009, Official Report, columns 12-13W, on 23 July the Government announced the electrification of the Great Western Main Line between London and Swansea, and the line between Liverpool and Manchester via Newton-le-Willows. This electrification programme radically affects the requirements for rolling stock over the next decade. We will publish an updated rolling stock plan, taking account of these changes and setting out a revised strategy in the autumn.

This will happen in due course and will set out the Government’s strategy in relation to rolling stock provision.