The government says electrification schemes in England will be announced ‘shortly’, and that it will pursue options for electrifying remaining diesel-operated pockets of the third rail DC network. The announcements were made in Decarbonising transport – a better greener Britain published on 15 July.
A series of commitments are made in the long-awaited transport decarbonisation plans, starting with delivering a net zero rail network by 2050. Because some aspects of transport policy are devolved to the Scottish and Welsh governments and Northern Ireland Executive, the policies in the document apply to England only.
Electrification comes early in the government’s plans for rail, with a commitment to ‘deliver an ambitious, sustainable, and cost-effective programme of electrification guided by Network Rail’s Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy.’ The government says this will create employment opportunities, reduce costs and help to “level up” the UK.
Alternative technologies form the next commitment: ‘We are supporting the development of battery and hydrogen trains and will deploy them on the network …
