The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has today welcomed both the Transport Committee’s new report, Fuelling the future: motive power and connectivity, and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s (CILT) Freight Electrification Map, which sets out a strategy for the electrification of freight routes.
Both reports, which were published today, call on the Government to speed up the electrification of the UK’s railways.
Commenting, RIA’s Technical Director, David Clarke, said:
“Today’s reports by both the Transport Select Committee and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport clearly show that rail is not on track to help the Government achieve Net Zero by 2050. Both the TSC’s report, which urges Government ministers to go faster when it comes to electrification, and the CILT’s roadmap, which sets out a plan to decarbonise 95% of rail freight by the mid 2040s, are helpful and timely.
“The TSC report is very clear that with just 38% of the rail network electrified and the Government committed to removing all diesel-only trains by 2040, there needs to be a major acceleration of electrification on intensively-used lines and the ramping up of hydrogen and battery trains on other parts of the network.
“The CILT roadmap shows how 80 million diesel HGV miles can be taken off the UK’s roads each year, as well as giving credible evidence that a rolling programme of freight electrification can be delivered at lower cost than recent schemes, building on RIA’s Electrification Cost Challenge report.
“In the coming weeks and months, RIA will be campaigning more intensively on the need to accelerate rail decarbonisation, championing not just the environmental and performance benefits, but also how investment in electrification supports economic growth and levelling-up.”
Contact Information
Media Team Railway Industry Association
[email protected]
Notes to editors
About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the voice of the UK rail supply community. We help to grow a sustainable, high-performing, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. RIA has 300+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £43 billion in economic growth and £14 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 710,000 people. It is also a vital industry for the UK’s economic recovery, supporting green investment and jobs in towns and communities across the UK; for every £1 spent in rail, £2.50 is generated in the wider economy. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number).
www.riagb.org.uk
Government must ‘pick winners’ by investing in low-carbon fuels for aviation and rail, says Transport Committee:
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/153/transport-committee/news/186465/government-must-pick-winners-by-investing-in-lowcarbon-fuels-for-aviation-and-rail-says-transport-committee/
Rail electrification possible for 95% of UK freight trains, CILT research reveals:
https://ciltuk.org.uk/News/Latest-News/ArtMID/6887/ArticleID/37134/Rail-electrification-possible-for-95-of-UK-freight-trains-CILT-research-reveals
RIA Electrification Cost Challenge Report:
https://www.riagb.org.uk/ria/newsroom/stories/electrification_cost_challenge_report.aspx
Rail Delivery Group, We Mean Green campaign:
https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/uk-rail-industry/campaigns/we-mean-green.html