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Electrification costs could be lowered by as much as 50%, new report claims

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Establishing a 10-year rolling programme, better planning and the use of proven designs and systems could help to reduce the cost of electrification by as much as 50 per cent – that is according to a new study from the Railway Industry Association (RIA).

Titled ‘RIA’s Electrification Cost Challenge’, the study uses examples from the UK and abroad to show how the high cost of recent electrification projects can be avoided in the future.

Calling on the government to revise its policy on electrification following the cancellation of schemes in 2017, RIA technical director David Clarke said: “The lessons from previous projects, including the Great Western Electrification Programme, are clear but we should stop using these projects as a benchmark for the cost of future schemes.

“Instead, we urge government to work closely with RIA and rail businesses – as requested by the Transport Select Committee and agreed to by government last September – to revise its policy on electrification where it is the right long-term solution.

“Only by doing so will we be able to decarbonise the rail network by 2040, and deliver a cleaner and more cost-effective railway network.”

Currently around 40 per cent of the UK’s rail network is electrified.

Responding to the report, Campaign for Better Transport CEO Darren Shirley said: “The scale and pace of rail electrification must increase if we are to tackle air pollution, meet our legally binding climate change targets and reverse the long-term underinvestment in transport infrastructure outside of London and the South East.”

To read the report in full, click here.

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