Climate change is the biggest threat we face globally. It is already having impacts on the environment and society and will increasingly impact on the economy too. The need to do everything we can to limit the impact is critical and urgent.
Rail is a low carbon mode of transport, that has much to be proud of, but as the report of the industry’s Decarbonisation Taskforce made clear – there is more we can, and must, do. The Government’s legally binding commitment to a net zero carbon economy has led to the DfT’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan. This is a game changer. All sectors that can get to zero will have to. It is no longer a question of what’s the business case, but what’s the fastest and most efficient track to zero. This challenge area sets out the technical route to delivery for traction energy. We have decided to focus on traction as both the largest element of rail’s footprint, and also the one that is most specific to rail.
As the Transport Decarbonisation Plan makes clear, rail can play a significant role through modal shift. Taking passengers and freight on those journeys which would otherwise be made by a more polluting mode. As automotive moves to electrify the perception of rail’s advantage may change – however, we should remember that 70% of our passenger train miles are already electric and through bi-mode technology, we can take that to 80% without any new infrastructure. However, as the Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy has made clear, electrification will be an important element to a decarbonised railway – especially where we run at higher speeds or frequencies, and on key freight flows. We now need to focus on reducing the cost and disruption of new wires.
But we’re not going to electrify the whole network so we also need to be accelerating the take up of new traction technologies such as hydrogen and battery. It is not a case of either electrification or alternative power – we will need both. Over the next decade or so, the need to replace over 1000 sprinter vehicles gives the potential for a step change in zero emission self powered vehicles on the network. We mustn’t waste this chance.
New trains and new wires are not the only solution though and given the urgency of the challenge we also need to be focussing on the current fleet and the existing network. Efficiency is an often neglected opportunity to reduce carbon – whether it’s on hotel load and system losses, or being able to optimise the timetable for low carbon. The impact this could have for rail freight, which faces the greatest technical challenge in decarbonising, is huge.
Solving some of these challenges will also help rail to play its part in improving air quality. Poor air quality is the biggest environmental health issue we face and one that is just as urgent as climate change, with an even more significant local impact on our communities. Increasingly as we look to address one, we need to consider the impact on the other.
This challenge area sets out five key issues and thirteen strategic stepping stones that can support the delivery of a genuinely low emissions railway that will continue to play a central role in the transport system of the future. Reaching each of these stepping stones will involve research, trials and implementation. There is much to do. But we cannot address this as a technical challenge alone. As the Decarbonisation Taskforce made clear: strong policy and governance, aligned incentives and clear accountability will also be key.
The industry is already making strides in these areas through the RSSB-led DECARB and CLEAR research programmes; and through Network Rail’s Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy. These provide strong foundations for the journey we need to make.
