Source · Select Committees · Welsh Affairs Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Paragraph: 39
Both the South East Wales Transport Commission and the Williams-Shapps White Paper make a powerful...
Conclusion
Both the South East Wales Transport Commission and the Williams-Shapps White Paper make a powerful case for the role rail, and in particular electrification, can play in the decarbonisation agenda. It underlines how short-sighted and regrettable Railway Infrastructure in Wales 35 the decision to cancel the electrification of the Great Western mainline from Cardiff to Swansea was, as well as the potential value in economic and ecological terms of investing in greater connectivity between Swansea-Cardiff-Bristol.
Paragraph Reference:
39
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The UK Government notes these recommendations, although agrees that electrification will play an important role in our programme to achieve our net zero 2050 target (see the response to Recommendation 5). Future decisions on electrification of the network will be guided by Network Rail’s TDNS, a set of recommendations that suggests which traction decarbonisation solutions (electrification, battery, or hydrogen) could be best suited to which parts of the currently unelectrified network. The 2017 cancellation of the electrification of the main line between Cardiff and Swansea was due to significant increase in costs and poor value for money. A driving reason was that electrification would provide no significant journey time saving between Cardiff and Swansea, as the maximum line speed over most of the route between the two cities is 90mph. The full benefits of running the Hitachi Intercity Express Trains in electric mode would not be possible even with electrification, with comparable journey times regardless of whether operating in diesel or electric.