East-West Rail 'must use electric trains' - Layla Moran MP

It is of "paramount importance" that a £5bn direct rail line between Oxford and Cambridge uses electric trains, an MP has said.

The East West Rail project aims to connect the university cities by the end of the decade, but its electrification is yet to be confirmed.

MP Layla Moran said: "We're in a climate emergency. No rail line should be designed for diesel by default."

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it was reviewing options.

According to the East West Rail Company (EWRC), the rail link will connect science parks, universities and industry between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge, and offer cheaper travel between its two end destinations.

The company was set up by the DfT in 2018 to help deliver the project.

In a statement, Ms Moran, the Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said while the line had the potential to "significantly boost sustainable travel" in the region, putting diesel trains on the line "would be a huge missed opportunity".

She added: "I've urged East West Rail in the strongest terms to work with government to design and deliver the line so that it's at least electrification-ready, to allow electric trains to be used on the route as soon as possible."

She said she was also concerned that her constituents "could be impacted by pollution from idling trains" and that it was "not the time for half-measures".

In her consultation submission to the EWRC, Ms Moran said electrification was of "paramount importance".

Campaign group Cambridge Smarter Transport has also called for the electrification of the line, so that its trains are "pollution-free and relatively quiet".

The project aims to have trains running between Oxford and Milton Keynes by 2025.

The next stage will have two trains running an hour from Oxford to Bedford, with the final stage completing the journey to Cambridge.

Some residents near Bedford station have been told they could face their houses being demolished to make way for the planned development.

A DfT spokesperson said: "The government is committed to decarbonising East West Rail by 2050, and a review is being undertaken to look at all long-term options for electrification."

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