Dr Jenifer Baxter, Head of Engineering at the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said about UK Transport
Secretary ’s comments that the decision
to scrap electrification between Cardiff and Swansea was a
decision taken on a “simple basis”:
“Electrification of this line will bring improved air
quality, better energy efficiency of trains, reduced greenhouse
gas emissions and an enhanced services. It is also a stretch of
line that is used extensively and provides an economic link
between the two main cities in South Wales.
“Unacceptably high costs for the Great Western
electrification scheme have been given as the reason for
scrapping the scheme, with costs rising from £874 million in 2013
to £2.8 billion in 2015. At today’s prices, this is seven times
the cost of British Rail’s electrification of the East Coast
route.[i] For this reason
Government has cut back this electrification and, wrongly, claims
that its benefits can be delivered by bi-mode
trains.
“Bi-mode trains are designed to operate on both
electrified lines and non-electrified lines. Those currently
being introduced on Great Western and East Coast routes are able
to switch between the electric powered mode and an on board
diesel powered engine. However, while flexible, the
electric-diesel bi-mode train suffers with increased emissions
when operating in diesel mode, has higher fuel, capital and
maintenance costs than pure electric trains and are less powerful
when working in diesel mode (8.6 kw/tonne) compared with electric
mode (11.2 kW/tonne). [ii] Bi-mode trains
offer a solution to non-electrified lines and reduce the
requirement to invest in electrification, but do not provide the
required performance or offer the most efficient or
environmentally friendly solution.
“In our report A Breath of Fresh Air: New
Solutions to Reduce Transport Emissions, we recommended that
the Department for Transport instruct Network Rail to develop an
appropriate specification for railway electrification, which will
achieve an affordable business case for rolling programme to
complete the electrification of main lines between Britain’s
principal cities and ports, and of urban rail networks through
our major city centres. As the pollution within our cities
continues to cause health problems and climate change becomes
increasingly evident across the globe, this is now an urgent
requirement.”
