Select committee: Transport Committee
Recommendation 4
Sixth Report - Trains fit for the future?
Published 23 Mar 2021
Paragraph 29
Addressed to Department for Transport
Transport Committee Trains fit for the future? All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We recommend that the Department for Transport publishes a long-term strategy for decarbonising the rail network as a matter of priority. This should include a vision for what proportion of the future network will use electrification, battery and hydrogen. That strategy should be supported by appropriate costings, a credible delivery plan, and enabling targets and milestones. These targets and milestones should clarify how the 2040 and 2050 targets will fit together.
From: Transport Committee, Sixth Report - Trains fit for the future? (HC 876), paragraph 29, 23 March 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 27 May 2021 (deadline 23 May 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the report and agrees that rail must be made greener to meet net zero by 2050, and it agrees, partially agrees or notes the individual recommendations.
- On a long-term decarbonisation strategy (Recommendation 1), the government "partially agrees" and says a comprehensive environment plan for the rail network "will be published by 2022".
- On a 30-year rolling electrification programme (Recommendation 4), it "partially agrees", stating it "will endeavour to deliver that pipeline of schemes over the next 30 years", while continuing to develop schemes through the RNEP process.
- It "agrees" to work closely with other departments, including the Treasury, "to secure the necessary funding to deliver the policy that we will set out in TDP".
- On a single cross-modal freight decarbonisation target (Recommendation 10), the government "notes this recommendation" and says further details on freight decarbonisation will be set out in its forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan.