Recommendation 1

HM Government Acknowledged

The Government welcomes the Transport Select Committee’s report that was published on 23 March, following their ‘Trains Fit for the Future’ inquiry. We are grateful to the Committee and to all those that provided evidence for their work. We agree that, although rail is already a relatively green mode of transport, we need to make it even greener if we are to hit our legally binding target of reaching net zero carbon emissions across the entire UK economy by 2050 – and we have been making good progress. In the last three years (for which data is available), we have completed almost 700 miles of electrification in England and Wales. Since the start of 2019, the Government has also contributed over £6 million to eighteen First of a Kind (FoaK) projects that will help decarbonise the railway and reduce harmful emissions. But there is still more for us to do. Our forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP), informed by the Network Rail-led Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy, will set the necessary scale and pace of rail decarbonisation that we need to see between now and 2050. To decarbonise the railway and help meet our net zero by 2050 target, we will support a mix of further electrification of the network and the deployment of hydrogen and battery trains on some lines. As set out in Recommendation 1, we will undertake bottom-up analysis and development work for each part of the unelectrified network covered by TDNS to ensure that we implement the most appropriate and most cost-effective decarbonisation solution in each case. The Williams-Shapps plan for rail, as set out in the White Paper published on 20 May, will provide an improved industry structure. Great British Railways (GBR) will provide a joined-up approach to delivering a cleaner, greener railway. This will include ambitious commitments to decarbonisation, improving air quality, reducing waste and supporting biodiversity. Unlike in today’s fragmented railways, GBR will have clearer accountability for delivering environmental objectives, including net zero. It will have improved oversight of cross-industry investment and planning, and closer alignment of track and train will enable more efficient decarbonisation. GBR will marshal the rail industry through its 30- year strategy, developing a long-term plan for delivering net zero and other environmental objectives.