Efforts to electrify the UK’s railways have been hampered by a boom and bust approach to funding that leaves most of the network still reliant on polluting diesel trains, MPs on the Transport Select Committee have said.
In the UK, approximately 38% of the rail network is electrified, equating to around 6,000km of track. This puts the system behind many European contemporaries, despite the UK’s relatively small land mass.
In a report – Rail investment pipelines: ending boom and bust – the committee said that fluctuating public investment in railway infrastructure in recent decades has led to long delays in much needed improvements to the network while creating damaging uncertainty in the supply chain.
In 2018, Jo Johnson, who was rail minister at the time, promised to take diesel-only trains out of service by 2040 at the latest in a bid to reduce air pollution. But since then, less than 200km of track has been electrified, mostly focused around extensions to the Midland Main Line, the build...