RIA North publishes green railway roadmap

Accompanied by a colour-coded map, ‘Greener, Faster, Better’ sets out RIA North’s priorities for which lines should be electrified first to decarbonise passenger and freight journeys, as well as which lines could benefit from alternative technologies such as batteries or hydrogen. Taking a long-term view running to 2050, the report identifies the Midland Main Line (MML) and TransPennine Route Upgrade (TRU) as having the greatest electrification benefits, both of which are due to be electrified as part of the government’s Integrated Rail Plan.

“Many of the North’s major freight and passenger routes continue to rely on diesel trains and critical connections between some of our largest cities are in need of major upgrades,” said Justin Moss, chair of RIA North.

“Electrification is the solution to many of these challenges. That is why we have published a roadmap for how our railway network can be not only be decarbonised through electrification, but also deliver faster journey times. We also identify where other decarbonisation solutions such as battery and hydrogen trains will be most appropriate.”