Mr Hobbs and CMAL vessels director Jim Anderson also revealed to the committee that Glen Sannox was 90 tonnes heavier than specified when handed over by the Ferguson shipyard in November.
There are doubts over the £1bn plan to electrify the north Wales mainline because it has not had funding agreed or an official go ahead from the UK government.The scheme forms a central part of the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto.
Network Rail has told a Senedd member that no formal development or feasibility work on the idea has been requested from the organisation since 2013.When questioned, the prime minister told the audience at Friday's launch that electrification "would happen".But a railway industry source has told BBC Wales that the project "isn’t going anywhere" because Network Rail has not had a remit letter from the Department for Transport.
Plans for electrification were first announced last October by Rishi Sunak, with a "cast-iron" guarantee from one of his ministers.The funding is to come from the cancellation of HS2 high speed rail between Birmingham and Manchester.
But National Rail has not had what is known as a remit letter from the Department for Transport.
The letter gives the green light that funding is available and that the project can proceed further.Like Dua Lipa on Friday night, they understand the brief: You can’t turn up to Glastonbury and play the same old festival set. It has to feel special.
They start with Yellow. Yes, Yellow. A song any other band would save for the encore.And for the next hour, the hits don’t stop: Higher Power, Paradise, The Scientist, Hymn For The Weekend, Viva La Vida. The setlist is stacked.
But it’s more than that. Chris Martin makes it his mission to reach every member of the audience individually.That’s why they give out the wristbands that turn the whole field into a giant LED screen. That’s why there are fireworks every five minutes. That’s why so many of their songs have a bit that goes “