Despite its green commitments, the British railway is slow to electrify

Despite its environmental promises, the United Kingdom It lags behind other European countries in electrifying its rail network, which continues to run largely on highly polluting diesel.

Government data indicates that 29% of the UK train fleet uses diesel, while freight trains rely 90% on that fossil fuel.

A new government strategy unveiled Thursday includes plans to electrify another 288 km of railroad tracks.

This would help “reach the goal of eliminating all trains to diesel of the network by 2040, ″ announced the Department of Transportation.

Diesel dependency

Only 42% of the British railway network is currently electrified, according to official data.

Electric trains emit 60% less carbon than diesel engines, according to the Rail Delivery Group.

The Rail Freight Group (RFG) company revealed in October that some electric train operators had to go back to using diesel locomotives due to an increase in the price of electricity.

The prices of goods and services have grown around the world due to the reopening of economies after the closures due to the pandemic.

The RFG said that the reversion to diesel was “regrettable” but assured that it is temporary.

Its CEO, Maggie Simpson, highlighted the need for “more power lines to support investment in new locomotives.”

“Of course, in the long term we need to move to a decarbonized economy, so increased use of electrical energy will be a big part of that,” Simpson said.

Last month, the UK launched an all-electric passenger train between London and Edinburgh, and the locomotive does not carry diesel support engines.

Some train operators seize the opportunity to transition to hybrid models, as automakers have done.

Chiltern Railways, which operates passenger services between London and central England, recently announced an investment in a diesel-electric hybrid train developed by the companies Porterbrook and Rolls-Royce, a maker of aircraft engines.

Hydrogen future

But in addition to increasing the electrification of its railways, the UK is also in the early stages of building trains that use hydrogen, a renewable source of energy.

French train manufacturer Alstom announced plans to deliver its first fleet of hydrogen trains to the UK.

“Trains are already the lowest emission mode of transport, but we can do more,” said Nick Crossfield, Alstom UK and Ireland Director, presenting the hydrogen project in partnership with Britain’s Eversholt Rail.

The November COP26 summit in Glasgow showcased the hydrogen train.

HydroFLEX, developed by Porterbrook and the University of Birmingham with funding from the British government, is a remodeled train whose designers say it can carry enough hydrogen to achieve the same performance as a diesel engine.

Glasgow Central Station showcased the HydroFLEX train to the public as the nearby COP26 summit focused on eliminating the sale of fossil fuel vehicles.