But it's current fashion to scrap old diesel engines, so current fashion would also be to replace the Sprinters with something greener.
Only in areas of high pollution, at best.
To do that on the railways, the Government would be depending on a Domain Specialist that has STILL not got on top of the delivery of existing plans.
Electrification is more expensive than NR would have us believe at the start of CP5, and it does not have the wherewithal to address the issues. As far as the Treasury (the paymasters) that is an unforgivable sin.
Every electrification project, no matter how small, will be going through a more stringent analysis on costs, benefits, and delivery. Not all of the delayed work will get through that process, and the project will come second to providing for customers needs rather than those of the Engineers, which is what the Electrification program has become.