LONDON (AP) — Britain will invest £1.1 billion ($1.8 billion) to expand its electrified rail network, taking the overhead lines into Wales for the first time, the government said yesterday.

The project will pay for itself because electrified lines use cheaper equipment than the diesel-powered trains now in use, the government said.

Work will begin immediately on an eight-year project to electrify the mainline from London Paddington to Cardiff and Swansea in Wales, including the branch to Oxford, Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said.

The second project involves a 30-mile (50 kms) line between Manchester and Liverpool.

The electrified lines will offer "faster journey times, more seats, greater reliability, improved air quality and lower carbon emissions than their diesel equivalents, as well as being cheaper to buy, operate and maintain", Adonis said.

Business groups hailed the announcement of the first major electrification project since the London-Edinburgh line was upgraded in the 1980s.

"It is vital that investment in the nation's transport infrastructure is sustained despite the adverse state of the public finances," said Peter Patterson, head of transport policy at the Institute of Directors.

"Further electrification of the rail network is a worthwhile project, generating a healthy return for the economy and benefiting rail passengers," Patterson said.

Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the project was "a good long-term commitment" to underpin economic recovery.

Electric lines now account for a third of the route miles on Britain's rail system, placing it well below many European countries. Switzerland's rail lines are 100 percent electrified, while France and Germany are above 50 percent.