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| RAIL PROFESSIONAL INTERVIEW
Interview
Peter Cole, Principal Environmental and Sustainability Officer at Transport for the North In the Summer of 2021, Sam Sherwood-Hale spoke to Peter Cole, Principal Environmental and Sustainability Officer at Transport for the North about decarbonisation, the transport issues facing the North and how society can adapt to environmental challenges Transport for the North (TfN) became England’s first Sub-national Transport Body in April 2018. TfN brings the North’s Local Transport Authorities and business leaders together, enabling our region to speak with one voice on the transport infrastructure investment needed to drive transformational growth and rebalance the UK economy. TfN works with Network Rail, Highways England, and HS2 Ltd, and as a statutory partner to the Department for Transport, its recommendations are formally considered by Government when important transport decisions about the North are being taken. Have you had a chance to read the Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan, presumably they consulted with people at your level so you already know what will be in the Plan? They have spoken to us. We participated in a number of workshop sessions with local authorities and specifically with the sub national transport bodies. But that was a one-way process so we had some input but there wasn’t a lot of dialogue. I don’t think there’s any massive surprise in that it’s quite technology focused, the government are very pro-choice which is a positive as one of the main conclusions that came out of the UK citizen’s climate assembly was that choice should be maintained. From what I have seen, we’re really going hard on HGVs by bringing forward the date for LGVs to be introduced so decarbonising vans is a really big thing. Rail Professional
The Transport for the North podcast that you did last year discussed how the first and last mile challenges in the North are unique to the area. Would there be deference to local authorities to make decisions that are more relevant to the unique topography of some areas?
A Decarbonisation Strategy for the North of England sets out the ambitious target of nearzero carbon emissions from surface transport by 2045. Tell me a little about the strategy and how rail comes into the mix.
Over a third of road emissions come from three per cent of trips which are over 35 miles, which is a really signifcant amount of emissions to tackle so we’re looking to work with rural authorities to understand how we tackle those cross boundary trips.
We partnered with the region’s leaders and agreed the direction of travel, and the ambition, in terms of transport decarbonisation for the region as a whole. This is about collectively ensuring the entire
region can decarbonise its surface transport and acknowledging that transport and travel by its nature is cross boundary. So, having
Every single place in the UK is fairly unique actually, although I think the North does have some particularly unique issues. There are a large number of deprived areas and low-income communities, so the work patterns reflect that with many people working shift patterns. We also have a really hilly topography and a less than stellar climate, but we also have a lot of national parks in the North such as the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales, as well as areas of outstanding national beauty. Over a third of road emissions come from three per cent of trips which are over 35 miles, which is a really significant amount of emissions to tackle so we’re looking to work with rural authorities to understand how we tackle those cross boundary trips.
