Plans to electrify the UK’s railways are running so far short of what is needed that it would take 240 years at current rates to reach the net zero goal, data has shown.
Over the next three years, to the end of 2025, the UK is set to electrify 162.5km (101 miles) of railway track, which is only about 12% of what is estimated to be needed over that period to be in line with the goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
To meet the UK’s net zero commitments, estimates show that 448km a year of rail must be electrified. Current plans would need to be increased eightfold to meet that target.
The figures, obtained through a freedom of information request by the Liberal Democrats, mark a continuation of the sluggish progress of rail electrification over the past eight years. Data from the House of Commons library, also commissioned by the Lib Dems, shows that between 2015 and 2022 the UK only once, in 2019, met the target of 448km a year.
Last year, only 2.2km of track was electrified. The new East West Rail line, under construction and scheduled to come into use in 2025, is also not being electrified, which the Lib Dems said was a missed opportunity.
Electrification is needed to bring down greenhouse gas emissions from transport. In its latest progress report to parliament, published this week, the Committee on Climate Change found that progress on reducing emissions from transport had stalled.
Wera Hobhouse, the transport, energy and climate spokesperson for the Lib Dems, said: “The government’s neglect and ignorance of the urgency needed to drive down transport emissions cannot be overstated. These latest figures are just another example of their claims of being world leaders in decarbonisation lying in tatters.”
She said the government had moved too slowly on net zero, of which public transport must be a key part. “[There] has been a complete failure to push towards cleaner rail travel,” she said. “It is clear from the lack of plans for rail electrification that they do not even recognise their errors.”
She said all new rail lines should be built as electric, as standard. Diesel trains contribute to air pollution as well as carbon dioxide emissions.
The Lib Dem findings show that in 2022-23 the main electrification project was the Barking Riverside line, of which only 2.5 miles were electrified, and in 2024-25 about 13, 38.5 and 47 miles of electrification are planned on the Wigan Bolton, TransPennine and Midland mainline routes respectively.
Network Rail has said that about 13,000km of track must be electrified to meet the 2050 target, but does not break this down by year. The Rail Industry Association has calculated, based on Network Rail’s estimates, that 448km of track must be electrified each year to fulfil the plans.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “We’re committed to delivering a net zero rail network by 2050, having electrified 800 miles of rail track in the last seven years alone. Our £96bn integrated rail plan sets out plans for much more electrification, while we’ve also invested in fast-charging battery innovations and hydrogen trials through our First of a Kind competition.”
Although only 38% of the UK’s rail network is electrified, these sections carry about three-quarters of the network’s annual number of passengers.
