Deputy Speaker,

I come to this House with the announcement that this government is starting the largest programme of rolling stock procurement in British history; as we indeed have to procure a significant amount of trains over the coming years, specifically, the next twenty-five years. As we have so many trains to acquire, we have decided to start a specific long-term programme to ensure that we have the rolling stock we need to make full use of the modernised, expanded and electrified British railway system.

Let me start by explaining the current state of British rolling stock. There are around 5500 trains in operation in the United Kingdom today, of which around 2300 are diesel, whilst 3200 are electric. Many of the electric trains will have to be replaced in the coming 25 years; whilst an electric train can last up to fifty years with refurbishment and proper maintenance, a significant chunk of the fleet is already more than twenty years old, especially around the capital.

None of this includes the rolling stock owned by transport for London, much of which will also have to be replaced over the coming decades, with a big renewal required by the mid 2040s. Of these, 382 will require renewal as well, and the other 218 will require refurbishment by the 2030s. Of all trains, around 380 are owned by Scotrail and 141 by Transport for Wales. Northern Ireland is already undergoing a general replacement of all rolling stock. As such, we will work with the Devolved Governments and the Mayor of London and include them in the process of acquiring large amounts of new rolling stock.

The acquisition shall be done over five phases, roughly; some of these phases shall be happening concurrently, as they aim to affect different parts of the railway. Let me start with phase one, to be finished by 2030. Over this period, we shall be procuring 1000 new electric-multiple units, of which 500 shall be designed for Intercity service and 500 battery-electric units which will be designed for regional service. During the first eight years of the electrification programme, there is a major focus on electrifying the main intercity routes, with the Midland Main Line, Transpennine line and the branches of the ECML serving Hull, Nottingham and Middlesborough being examples of lines affected.

The 500 regional units shall be procured for mainly suburban service around the big cities in the North, and are designed to use both overhead wire where available, and battery-power where necessary to serve suburban centres which do not have full electrification yet. These units will only be a temporary solution for these places, however, and will serve, in some cases, alongside a few diesel trains, as we are trying to increase both capacity and frequency in these mostly northern places. As these places are electrified over the 2030s, these trains will be moved to other places in the country, such as routes that are set to remain battery operated under the current plans in rural Cornwall and East Yorkshire, or to other areas that are still set to be electrified at a much later stage in the late 2030s and early 2040s.

The second phase is what I will call the Big Bang: a period of around ten years in which we will procure around 3500 new trains. This is a lot of trains, but also a critical part of the whole process. During this period, we will be phasing out every single diesel train in the United Kingdom, replacing some ageing electric trains and investing in increased frequency of especially regional services. Of these trains, around 750 shall be designed for intercity service, and 2750 will be designed for regional and rural service, providing high capacity service to suburban and rural service across the country. I recognise this is a big ask, and we will work with British Rail Engineering and the various rolling stock companies: we have already made contact with Alstom, Siemens Mobility and Stadler as a part of preparing this Statement to the House.

Deputy Speaker, now let me shortly mention the other three phases: the third phase focuses on rail freight in particular, and shall last from 2028 to around 2038, building 1500 new electric freight locomotives, some more expensive and made for carrying large loads, some of them will be smaller, and according to the Swiss example, made for carrying smaller amount of freight over regional distances. This is more than a doubling of the freight fleet in the United Kingdom today, but given the increase in freight rail we are aiming for by 2050, such a significant expansion will be required.

The other two phases will be a general refurbishment phase, refurbishing 1500 trains over the 2030s, bringing them up to the standards of the time. For example, they may be adjusted to be able to use the ETCS signalling system, which is being rolled across the United Kingdom today, or to put more comfortable seating in. Around the same period, we will be investing in the refurbishment of a large section of the London Underground fleet, and working with Transport for London and a yet to be designated international company to refurbish the existing Underground fleet, and to design a new fleet of Underground trains, hopefully letting us return to British design and British manufacturing, rather than just the latter.

Deputy Speaker, I recognise that this is an expensive project, but I would note that a lot of these costs are ones that we would be making regardless: trains have to be replaced, they have to be refurbished, diesel trains will have to be phased out. Where in the past this would be hidden behind leasing costs from a ROSCO, now we are the ROSCO; we own the trains, we maintain them, and we have to plan ahead of time to be prepared for future developments. We know what those developments are, and get to create a fifteen year plan to build up the capacity required and then deliver this plan. This means that, despite the high headline cost, we are saving money over this period of time: those companies who work with us know that they will be able to deliver hundreds of trains over many years, and we also hold the leverage to make them produce here, in the United Kingdom, with British engineers. This means expanding the facilities in Derby, but also new centres around the United Kingdom; for example, in Doncaster and in the North West. And I hope that the whole of this House can be united on that question: British jobs, British trains, British Rail. Let’s get it done!

Debate on this statement will end on Friday 15th December at 10pm GMT.