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Delivering the goods
Delivering the goods Alex Veitch
The route to net zero for rail
Alex Veitch, General Manager for Public Policy at Logistics UK provides an overview of Logistics UK’s response to the government’s approach to the decarbonisation of the rail industry
In July 2021, the government published its transport decarbonisation plan, Decarbonising transport: a better, greener Britain, its ‘greenprint’ for transitioning transport to a Net Zero industry. Within the plan is a commitment to make the rail network Net Zero by 2050 – a move supported by Logistics UK and its members – through an extensive electrification programme and use of battery and hydrogen technologies. The Rail Environment Policy Statement: on Track for a Cleaner, Greener Railway was published alongside the plan, which sets out in more detail the government’s direction for the rail industry on environmental sustainability.
With transport the largest contributor to UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the logistics industry is aware of the part it must play in reducing its emissions and is making notable progress in this space already. Technology is developing rapidly, with Britain’s first hydrogen powered train making its debut journey in September 2020, with an aim to start carrying paying passengers by the end of 2021, and further developments for freight are taking place overseas: Canadian Pacific’s Hydrogen Locomotive Program is in the process of developing North America’s first hydrogen-powered linehaul freight locomotive.
Progress continues to be made on the electrification of Britain’s railways, with two fifths of the network now electrified. In the last three years, the government completed almost 700 track miles of rail electrification in England and Wales, and since the start of 2019, contributed more than £9 million to 26 FoaK (First of a Kind) projects that will help decarbonise the railway or reduce harmful emissions. We are pleased to see the government pledge to electrify more of the network to enable electric rail freight to run on more routes. In the view of Logistics UK and its members, electrification is the most viable solution for reducing rail emissions, particularly for freight; a belief supported in the Williams-Shapps Plan for
Rail, where electrification is detailed as likely to be the main way of decarbonising most of the network.
Logistics UK has long been asking government to fund ‘infill’ electrification projects, which can be delivered cost-effectively and swiftly, to enable rail freight operators to immediately switch services over to electric traction; we are pleased to see this will form part of the government’s electrification strategy and that the government is committing to working with the rail freight industry to ensure that the existing electric network can be better used. We also await promised government detail on future electrification programmes, with the government confirming the programmes will be led by the newly established body, Great British Railways.
While electrification will dominate the network, there is still a place for alternative traction power, such as battery and hydrogen
trains, in less used parts of the network owing to the high cost of installing electrification. However, it remains to be seen how suitable these technologies will be for moving heavy freight trains, or whether their use will be focused on passenger travel.
Of course, there is more to the railways than train and track: for rail to be truly Net Zero, the associated infrastructure, such as stations, terminals and depots, must also be zero emission, and any fuels used across the network must be sourced renewably.
Increased capacity for rail freight will be vital for the logistics industry to transition effectively to Net Zero; the development of HS2 will be crucial in unlocking this capacity and supporting shifts from road and air to rail.
Logistics UK welcomed the publication of the government’s transport decarbonisation strategy, which helps to provide more certainty and confidence to business. We are keen to work with government on its plans to introduce a rail freight growth target and its intention to develop policies to incentivise the take up of low carbon traction by rail freight operators. We will be continuing our engagement with the government on the details, future actions and forthcoming strategies outlined in the plans.
Logistics UK is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With Covid-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods. For more information about the organisation and its work, including its ground-breaking research into the impacts of Covid-19 on the whole supply chain, please visit logistics.org.uk.
