Excerpts of ’s first major speech, given at
the British Museum today
will call for all diesel-only
trains to be taken off the UK’s railway by 2040 in his first
major speech as Rail Minister, to be made at the British Museum
today.
“I would like to see us take all diesel-only trains off the track
by 2040. If that seems like an ambitious goal, it should be and I
make no apology for that. After all we’re committed to ending the
sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. If we can achieve that,
then why can’t the railway aspire to a similar objective?”
The Minister will say that increased travel has resulted in
greater carbon emissions, and it is up to all sectors of the
transport industry to bring about change.
“Many thought transport would become less necessary as the
Internet grew, but we’re travelling twice as much as we did in
1970, and while this mobility spurs economic growth, there’s a
price to pay in pollution and carbon emissions.”
He will say that the pace of innovation in the rail industry
needs to grow, to match that of other transport sectors.
“This Government is now injecting record levels of investment in
the railway to help it grow further. But alongside increased
funding, the industry also needs to modernise. Compared with
other transport sectors, progress has been palpably slow.”
He will highlight recent pollution figures which demonstrate the
need for greater change in transport
“You may have heard recent stories about transport becoming the
most polluting sector of our economy. And the fact rail emissions
have increased in absolute terms.”
The Minister will tell delegates that rail can take the lead in
the shift to low emission, by utilising new bi-mode technology
and alternative fuels.
“New bi-modes are a good bridging technology to other low
emission futures. They are fitted with modern diesels – which we
started introducing last autumn on the Great Western line- are
less polluting than the trains they replaced.
And as battery technologies improve we expect to see the diesel
engines in bi-modes replaced altogether with batteries powering
the train between the electrified sections of the network. Or
maybe in the future we could see those batteries and diesel
engines replaced with hydrogen units. Alternative-fuel trains
powered entirely by hydrogen are a prize on the horizon and I’d
like to see hydrogen train trials on the UK railway as soon as
possible because hydrogen offers an affordable – and potentially
much cleaner – alternative to diesel.
Although the Government will provide support for developing the
skills and technology needed for a low carbon railway, the
Minister is giving the industry a six month time limit to take up
the challenge.
“Today I am calling on the railway to provide a vision for how it
will decarbonise. And I expect the industry to report back by the
autumn.”
