§ Mr. Donald Stewartasked the Minister of Transport what is his estimate of the cost of electrification of the railway lines serving Glasgow-Edinburgh, Edinburgh-Aberdeen, Glasgow-Largs and Glasgow-Ayr; and what is his estimate of the expenditure that would be required on new rolling stock with respect to each electrification project.
§ Mr. FowlerNo estimate is available for Glasgow to Edinburgh or Edinburgh to Aberdeen, as detailed proposals for these individual projects have not been prepared by British Rail. Electrification of the local passenger services from Paisley to Ayr and Ardrossan, and from Ardrossan to Largs, is the responsibility of Strathclyde regional council—as passenger transport authority for the area. However, I understand that Strathclyde's latest cost estimate for Paisley-Ayr/Ardrossan is £28.8 million at November 1979 prices, including rolling stock. The corresponding figure for Ardrossan-Largs is over £5 million, though there is no firm proposal for this.