3 авг 2021 г. - (UK) Railway Industry Association (RIA) - To reach Net Zero by 2050, we need to decarbonize rail now

Описание:

To reach Net Zero by 2050, we need to decarbonise rail now, says Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association. A study by Network Rail - which owns, operates and develops the UK’s railway infrastructure - has shown that to decarbonise the 15,400 kilometres of unelectrified railway lines in the UK, 11,700km would need to be electrified, with 400km for battery, 900km for hydrogen and 2,300km where multiple options will need to be considered. So we need to begin a rolling programme of electrification work now. There are currently no major active construction schemes for electrification in England and without further work soon, we will start to lose skilled expertise and capabilities in the industry. Past schemes have shown that taking a ‘stop-start’ approach increases costs, whereas a rolling programme of electrification could cut costs by up to 50% when compared with past schemes. This view is backed by Parliament’s Transport and Public Accounts committees. Support for hydrogen and battery technology will also be required. There are a number of hydrogen and battery train trials in the UK and the technology is now developed enough that the industry could begin work on a fleet order. The average life of rolling stock is around 30 years, so we need to see these fleet orders now.

https://riagb.org.uk/RIA/Newsroom/Prospect_Magazine.aspx