RIA BRIEFING: TRANSPORT DECARBONISATION PLAN

PROGRESS REPORT TWO YEARS ON

June 2023

1. Introduction

In July 2021, the Department for Transport (DfT) published its Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP), which was welcomed by the Railway Industry Association (RIA), given the commitments were consistent with those sought by our members.

The Transport Select Committee recently commented on the Government’s progress against this plan in its report, ‘Fuelling the Future’. The report found that there is a gap between what was promised in the TDP and what is being delivered, especially when it comes to rail:

Transport Select Committee

July 21 Transport Decarbonisation Plan Commitment Transport Select Committee Recommendations March 2023

Deliver a net zero rail network by 2050*, ambition to remove all diesel-only trains (passenger).

To meet its objective to phase out all diesel-powered trains by 2040, the Government must increase the current pace of electrification set out in Network Rail’s traction decarbonisation plan.

Deliver an ambitious, sustainable, and cost effective programme of electrification guided by Network Rail’s TDNS and freight) by 2040.

Develop and deploy battery and hydrogen trains and deploy them on the network as we decarbonise. Use technology to clean up diesel trains until they can be removed altogether.

As stated in our ‘Trains fit for the future?’ report, we recommend that the DfT publish a long-term strategy for decarbonising the rail network as a matter of priority.

This should include a vision for what proportion of the future network will use electrification, battery and hydrogen. That strategy should be supported by appropriate costings, a credible delivery plan, and enabling targets and milestones.