Electrification of East-West Rail

That this House notes that East-West Rail will link Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge by rail; acknowledges the completion of the first phase between Oxford and Bicester and announced funding for phase 2 from Bicester to Bletchley; is concerned that the Government does not plan for the route to be electrified and that other benefits of the scheme, including important rail links such as the Aylesbury Spur, have been put on hold; urges the Government to use the money that was allocated to the now-cancelled Oxford-Cambridge Expressway to enhance plans for East-West rail; calls on the Government to continue with the whole of the East-West Rail project and to design it to be as environmentally sustainable as possible from the start; further calls on the Government to fully fund and electrify East-West Rail.