Written evidence submitted by the Campaign to
Electrify Britain’s Railways (RIP0042)

1.            INTRODUCTION

1.1       This letter constitutes the Campaign to Electrify Britain’s Railway’s (CEBR) response to the above call for evidence issued in December 2024 by the Transport Select Committee. We would also welcome the opportunity to discuss the submission with the Transport Committee.

1.2       CEBR also want to state that all rail transport is a force for good, like all public transport. The railways link communities and help people travel to work and education. Pipelines of work make maintenance, renewal, and installation work efficient and cost-effective – meaning we can keep ticket prices down, have a more reliable railway and decarbonise faster.

2.            BACKGROUND TO THE CAMPAIGN TO ELECTRIFY BRITAIN’S RAILWAY (CEBR)

2.1       CEBR was established in early 2018 following the cancellation of railway electrification projects across the UK. CEBR was primarily formed to support rail User Groups in their individual campaigns to electrify their rail routes and provide a coordination role in linking regional campaigns.

2.2       CEBR has over 500 members and is purely a volunteer organisation. Our annual conferences have attracted over 100 like-minded people representing User Groups and Companies from all over the UK to discuss the campaign.
 

3.            FORMAT OF OUR SUBMISSION

3.1       We are structuring our submission as a single document based on the views of our members.

4.            TRACTION POWER

4.1       Rolling stock traction power is inextricably linked to costs, passenger benefits and decarbonisation. Thus, the choices on how to power trains are essential to running and funding the railways. Over its lifetime electrification remains the most affordable way to run a railway, even including electrification capital costs.

4.2       The cost of electrification is closely related to boom and bust work programmes. At the height of Great Western Electrification – during a boom in work and after a hiatus of work. Electrification cost £3.9m per single track km in 2018. Since then, despite significant inflation in England, electrification costs have fallen to £3.1m; in Scotland, rates have fallen further to £2.7m per single track km.

4.3       For busy or mainline railways, electrification remains the only solution to decarbonise the UK railways. Alternative solutions may be required for other areas with no business case for electrification, such as discrete or discontinuous electrification combined with batteries or hydrogen fuel cells in some locations.

4.4       Despite a trend in falling costs, a new hiatus approaches. There is currently no major construction work in Scotland, England and Wales, and significant numbers of skilled jobs are being lost. There are plans for some electrification in parts of the UK. However, this is not being translated into construction work now. Again, the UK is left at the bottom of the cycle of boom and bust, and jobs and skills will be lost, lessons learnt lost. This loss will result in increased costs in the future and more mistakes made.

5.            Rolling Programme of Electrification

5.1       On the back of Birmingham University’s Centre for Rail Research and Education (BCRRE) work on hydrogen trains, they stated that ‘electrification is the ultimate answer to powering the railway’. Furthermore, they have presented a simple example of choosing where electrifications should be carried out: on railways where there is or will be 100mph+ operation and where there are 6 or more trains an hour (3 in each direction). Where there are more trains an hour or where these are mainline trains, the only technology other than diesel is electrification.

5.2       Besides the criteria above, many infill schemes enable trains to run under full electric onto mainline or busy railways. Thus, any electrification programme must also understand the impact on passengers and the UK rail system.

5.3       There will be a case where alternative fuels will be the most expedient or cost-effective way of decarbonising the railway. However, for the mainline or busy railways, electrification is the only way to decarbonise. This split may change as technology develops, but some lines that can only meet timetable requirements through electrification will remain. These ‘no regrets’ projects, such as completing Midland Mainline electrification to Sheffield, should commence urgently before more skills are lost.

6.            Benefits of Electrification

6.1       There a several benefits to passengers, train procurement and infrastructure from the electrification of railways:

•     Capacity Crunch: Electric trains have more seats than all other forms of traction power, including diesel, bi-mode, hydrogen and battery. For trains of the same length, a fully electric train will have greater capacity without lengthening platforms, as they do not need to carry fuel or batteries. This means more seats for passengers.

•     Journey Time: Electric trains are faster than diesel, bi-mode, hydrogen and battery trains. They have superior braking and acceleration is quicker. This makes journey times shorter for passengers and increases route capacity, allowing more trains and passenger seats. For example, when electrification allowed the introduction of Class 385 EMUs in Scotland, they had twice the acceleration of the diesel vehicles they replaced. This allows for better, faster journeys.

•     Train Purchase Costs: Full electric trains are cheaper than any other form of train. The long-term maintenance cost is also cheaper than any other form of train, with bi-mode being the most expensive. Electric trains are approximately 30% cheaper to maintain than diesel trains and approximately 50% cheaper than diesel bi-mode trains. For example, the bi-mode IEP fleet costs £4m per coach extra to maintain over the 27-year contract compared to an entire electric IEP fleet on Great Western. Thus, the additional cost for 369 coaches on the Great Western IEP fleet is over £1bn over the 27-year contract.

•     Track Maintenance: Track maintenance costs are approximately 10% cheaper on a full electric route than on any route where a train carries the fuel. This is due to lighter axel loads on electric trains. The result is less track maintenance work and better track reliability. Batteries and hydrogen themselves have a considerable weight.

•     Train Reliability: Electric trains are more reliable than other trains, even considering increased infrastructure. Improved reliability means fewer cancelled trains. A modern electric train (EMU) is more than twice as reliable as a diesel train (DMU). Figures from the LTPRSS.

6.2       A good synopsis of the benefits of electrification is within the Long Term Passenger Rolling Stock Strategy (LTPRSS) produced by RDG: “Over time, electric trains have generally proved to be more reliable, efficient, environmentally friendly and cheaper”.

6.3       There is also a considerable environmental improvement from electrification over other forms of traction power. Electrification is the most efficient way to power trains. For example, with hydrogen fuel cells hydrogen is needed to be produced by electricity. Due to the losses in production, 2.4 times more electricity is needed to run a hydrogen fuel cell compared to an electric train. Hydrogen would need a dramatic increase in the power consumption of the railway to power a rail network. Batteries have very low power density, roughly 2.5% of diesel. Thus, to run a train on the equivalent of the fuel tank of diesel would need 40x the space. A mainline train would need carriages of batteries to power it for the day. Discontinuous electrification still has considerable energy losses compared to full electrification.

7.            UK compared to Germany

7.1       In March 2019 the Rail Industry Association published the Electrification Cost Challenge Report. The report included the graph below that CEBR produced. The graph demonstrates that Germany has had a steady rolling programme of rail electrification at 200km a year, compared to the UK’s ‘boom and bust’ approach.

7.2       Since CEBR developed the graph, the situation in German has continued to evolve. The German Government has announced that they want 70% of all lines electrified in order to meet their environmental targets and decarbonise their railway. To achieve this, Germany plans to increase the rolling programme from 200km a year to 400km. Germany is developing a national plan to implement this, their rolling programme is based on a national strategy.

7.3                           The maps below show the German programme. The maps show the rail network in Germany. The map on the left shows the situation at the start of their recent programme; the lines in bold red are currently un-electrified. Predominately, these are slower regional lines, as almost the entire mainline German network is electrified. The lines in light grey are those electrified. The map on the right shows the plan for Germany. The lines in bold green are those that Germany plans to electrify in the 400km per year rolling programme. The lines in bold red will require other solutions, as there is no business case to electrify these. This may include discontinuous and discrete electrification combined with batteries, but not on mainline railways.

7.4       Germany demonstrates a case for long-term plans with clear direction from the government. It does not leave different technologies fighting but provides direction for train manufacturers and government procurement teams. This leads to long-term investment and lowers costs. The RIA Electrification Cost Challenge Report demonstrates that the costs of electrification in Germany are significantly lower than in the UK and that long-term plans support this efficiency.

7.5       Long-term plans, such as in Germany, support passengers and train procurement. The long life cycle of a train means that long-term planning is essential; the UK ‘boom and bust’ approach is to the detriment of rolling stock.

8.            Freight Network

8.1       It is important to note that the UK rail network rail also has a significant amount of freight trains, decarbonisation of a freight train presents even more challenges than a passenger train due to the significantly greater weight of a freight train.

8.2       For the rail freight network, there is no viable option for electrification alternatives except diesel. A full electric freight train requires around 2.5 MW of power. No hydrogen or battery technology can support this for a long-distance freight route. East West Rail’s proposals for discontinuity do not support decarbonised freight.

8.3       The rail freight industry has already examined the case for a rolling electrification programme and what would be required for the freight industry to procure electric freight trains. The map below shows the output from the CILT Rail Freight Forum proposal.

8.4       The proposal would be a modest rolling programme of 40 miles per year of in-fill schemes. This would allow 95% of all freight trains to be electrified. Furthermore, the commitment to electrification would allow them to begin purchasing electric trains.

8.5       Rail freight is keen to use electric trains, but there needs to be a commitment from the government before rail freight companies commit to train procurement, which only long-term funding can deliver.

9.            CONCLUSIONS

9.1       The railway is vital to the UK and everyone travelling on it. Ensuring that work is delivered efficiently and affordable is essential for passengers and freight.

9.2       CEBR calls on the Government to implement a national strategy to electrify the majority of the UK’s railway in a rolling programme. In particular for all mainline and busy railways. There is a role for alternative fuels, where there is not a business case for rail electrification.

9.3       The government should instruct Network Rail to implement a Decarbonisation Route Utilisation Strategy similar to that undertaken in Germany. Planning where to electrify between now and 2040 in a rolling programme. Then how to deal with the remaining network with alternative fuels.

9.4       A rolling programme will cover approximately 300km per year. That rolling programme should also consider how rail freight can be electrified. The programme must also outline how electrification can be delivered regionally so that local and regional teams can build skills and capabilities.

9.5       New projects such as East West Rail need to be electrified and not rely on technology that does not exist being in place in the future.

February 2025