‘Bi-mode’ trains that operate on battery power when not using an electrified track could save Britain’s railways £3.5bn and 12 million tonnes of CO2 over a 35-year period, Siemens Mobility has said.

The trains, which would be assembled at the firm’s manufacturing facility in Goole, East Yorkshire, could be powered by overhead wires on already-electrified routes, then switch to battery power where wires are absent.

Only small sections of the routes or particular stations would have to be electrified, making it much quicker and less disruptive to replace diesel trains compared with full electrification.

Siemens also said it had developed a way to fast-charge the train’s batteries at key points along the route, using infrastructure that can be plugged directly into the domestic grid.

Last year, a mere 10% of British freight trains were being hauled by electric locomotives, while a handful of short unelectrified sections forced them to be diesel-hauled for long distances.

The Chartered Institute...