MANY of you will have heard about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 10-point decarbonisation plan.
You’d expect that plans to electrify more of the rail network would be a key part of such an announcement, particularly with the end of new petrol and diesel car sales only 10 years away.
In the report, there was no new or forthright commitment to increasing network electrification from 38% to a more realistic 65-70%, other than “we will further electrify regional and other rail routes”.
Hardly a dynamic statement, when you consider just a few years ago plans to electrify the Midland Main Line through the East Midlands was abandoned by Government in favour of bi-mode trains.
What is needed is a solid commitment.