Haydn Abbott, managing director, Angel Trains
ONE of Britain’s train leasing bosses has demanded the Government takes a strategic lead on electrification.
Haydn Abbott, managing director of Angel Trains, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland, said the contrast between diesel and electric traction was “stark”.
He was concerned that the major rolling stock leasing companies may be about to invest hundreds of millions in a fleet of new government-specified diesel-powered high-speed trains that will have no long-term future.
Speaking at a Railway For-um conference, on ‘choosing sustainable power’, he said that electric trains were significantly cheaper than diesels based on 30-40 year whole-life costs.
“Government must take a network strategic lead,” said Mr Abbott. “Early decisions are needed now on electrification schemes.
“We must not buy trains that will not fulfill their useful lives,” he said, referring to the Intercity Express Project, which has been put out to tender by the Department for Transport – calling for a fleet of diesel-powered trains from 2015 to replace first-generation HSTs on the Great Western, East Coast and Midland main lines.
And Jeremy Candfield, director-general of the Railway Industry Association, warned that if decisions were not taken soon on a rolling programme of electrification, the skilled resources necessary would be lost to growing demand for major railway developments in the rest of the world, including China, Asia and the Middle East.
Up to 1,500 diesel multiple unit vehicles in Britain could need replacement by 2020, said Mr Candfield – but if the new trains were to be electric, the infrastructure must be provided first.
This could require electrification work to be started within the next five years, but at present Network Rail only plans renewal during 2009-14 of 960 single-track kilometres (596 miles) of existing stretches of the East Coast and Great Eastern electrified lines.
Chris Stokes, a former deputy franchising director and executive director for the Strategic Rail Authority, now acting as a consultant for the Association of Train Operating Companies, said there had been no strategic look at network electrification since 1981.
Then, a joint study by British Rail and the Transport Department proposed a rol-ling programme of electrification but Margaret Thatcher’s government did not adopt it. Only the East Coast and Birmingham’s Cross-City lines were electrified.
Mr Stokes said the best case for new electrification was to start with the main lines, rather than in-fill projects, although some delegates at the conference thought early in-fill projects were necessary to enable workers’ electrification skills to be renewed and expanded.
Derek Chapman, the DfT’s deputy director, rail, technical and professional, said: “The strong probability is that the case for electrification will continue to improve into the foreseeable future.”
He acknowledged that decisions must be taken in the next year or two and suggested it would be sensible to undertake some infill electrification projects (such as Manchester-Preston) to help build up expertise, as well as starting on a main line
programme.
Professor Rod Smith, of Imperial College, London, told the Railway Forum Conference that Britain’s level of electrification was “woeful”. But high-speed electrified lines would beat air on journeys up to 400 miles, with huge savings in fuel consumption and carbon emissions, he said.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
The government surely cannot ignore the rising oil price and finite uncertain supplies in making decisions for new trains. Surely common sense should tell them that what is needed for the long term benefit and well being of our country and its people, is a sustainable electrified rail network using power generated from sustainable sources. If they build new oil powered trains they will be jeopardising our future and wasting huge sums of our money. So we all know what they will do then!
Ian Brown, Billericay, Great Britain
It has been known for decades that there needed to be new rolling stock. Successive governments have ignored and now farmed off responsibility of the railways and only now are the fears of industry leaders then being realised.
Now is the need and the time to roll out the APT!! A gas-turbine powered HST capable of speeds up to 150mph within current infrastructure. All the designs are done and proven. All that needs is for someone to make it happen.
Ian, York, England