Tory cancellation of promised
electrification works will lengthen journey times, increase carbon emissions
and raise the cost of the rail network
By scrapping the electrification of the
TransPennine route, the Tories are essentially pulling the plug on the proposed
Crossrail for the Northern Powerhouse project, which could no longer be a fully
electrified network.
Cancelling electrification
projects around the country will add significantly to journey times:
-
Journeys between Manchester
and Liverpool will add nearly 30 minutes -
Journeys between Leeds
and Newcastle will add over 20 minutes. -
Cancelling the
electrification of the Cardiff to Swansea section of the Great Western Mainline
puts at risk the estimated journey time saving between Swansea and London with
Super Express trains of 19 minutes.
Labour has made a £10
billion commitment to “Crossrail for the North” to reverse decades of
underinvestment in Northern transport infrastructure that has undermined the
economic potential of the north of England and help deliver 850,000 new jobs by
2050.
Network Rail estimates that electrification and the
running of electric vehicles can help to reduce CO2 emissions by an average of
20 to 30 per cent compared to their diesel counterparts and the maintenance
costs for electric trains are 33 per cent lower than for diesel.
Network Rail also estimates that electric passenger
vehicles fuel savings are between 19 and 26 pence per vehicle mile.
Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s
Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on the
findings, said:
“The Government’s disgraceful U-turn on
their promise to deliver electrification on the Midland Mainline, Trans-Pennine
and Great Western routes will threaten economic growth in areas of England and
Wales already suffering from poor connectivity and underinvestment.
“Pulling the plug on electrification
shows the Tories’ disregard for Wales and Yorkshire, which will continue to
suffer from underinvestment, and proves the ‘Midlands Engine’ and the ‘Northern
Powerhouse’ are just more empty slogans from this Government.
“The Tories are trying to pull the wool over people’s
eyes by claiming that diesel bi-mode trains will deliver the same benefits as
electrification, despite saying for years that failure to electrify the network
costs more in the long run, causes more pollution, worsens air quality, lessens
capacity and makes services slower and less reliable.
“Not only will Labour deliver the promised
electrification, we will address the imbalance in transport infrastructure
spending, committing to building a Crossrail for the North and enhancing and
expanding the rail network in order to drive economic growth and rebalance our
economy for the many not the few”.
Ends
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