POWERTRAIN
ON TRACK FOR NET ZERO
Government and industry need to create a long-term strategy for decarbonisation of rail, according to industry experts
C
ontributors to a recent webinar panel debate entitled ‘On Track To Net Zero: Decarbonisation
In Rail’, held during the UK’s Decarbonisation Transport Week in March, agreed that with the right long-term strategy and approach, the rail industry could play a central role in helping to meet the government’s goal of achieving carbon net zero transport by 2050. Webinar chair infrastructure journalist Andy Walker began by saying: “We have the technology to provide electrification and low carbon rolling stock to deliver net zero by 2050, what we need now is the strategy.” Maggie Simpson, Director General of the Rail Freight Group, agreed,
adding that one of simplest ways of taking carbon out of transport is to encourage businesses to transport goods using rail freight. She also explained that much could be done to reduce emissions from freight itself, a predominantly diesel business, including an acceleration of rail electrification (see boxout) as well as synthetic alternative fuels on parts of the network that can’t be electrified. As Simpson explained, freight
assets have a very long life, of around 40 years (compared with the 10 or 12-year life of an HGV). Although they require significant outlay up front (circa £200 million), a long term investment strategy will significantly reduce carbon. Elaine Clark, Chief Executive of Rail
The decarbonisation of the UK rail sector holds the promise of social betterment, job creation, skill development, and increased investment
Forum, also made the point that a government strategy would need to take other factors into consideration, such as the impact of climate change on landslides or the imperative to better maintain assets in the face of other changes that we see today.
INTERIM OPPORTUNITIES Clark explained that she could see many interim opportunities to reduce carbon including the use of alternative fuels such as hydrogenated vegetable oil, for example. She said: “This costs more than diesel, but a modest subsidy might keep freight or the passenger industry neutral.” The government would have to make this part of a wider strategy. She added that although existing
Research from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s (CILT) highlights an opportunity to electrify 95% of rail freight operations in the UK by the mid-2040s
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www.engineerlive.com
diesel passenger trains can be modified to use batteries or hydrogen there is a lot of engineering involved – although they can be designed
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