Feature
When, in February 2018, the then Transport Minister Jo Johnson challenged the rail industry to report on how it could eliminate diesel-only trains to decarbonise the railway, he suggested battery and hydrogen trains were a ‘prize on the horizon’.
A rail industry decarbonisation taskforce, set up to respond to this call, published an interim report in January 2019 followed by a final report in July. This concluded decarbonisation can only be achieved with a ‘judicious mix’ of electric, battery and hydrogen traction and recommended that this mix should be determined by a Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy.
