Enlarge the loading gauge to aid decarbonisation
Transport decarbonisation is the opportunity to consider a combination of electrification works with a loading gauge enlargement to the International Union of Railways (UIC) GC profile.
If Britain wants to meet its 80% CO reduction target by 2050, either all motorways must be equipped with overhead line equipment (as envisaged in Germany) to run bi-mode lorries on them, or the lorries are simply loaded on a train hauled by an electric locomotive.
A UIC GC loading gauge is the basis for rail transportation of HGV semi-trailers. Considering any lorry entering Britain comes loaded on a ship or train anyway, this should be highly competitive. It also enables multi-system locomotives to haul freight trains from Glasgow to Genoa in one go.
Currently, any train design has to be specially adapted to the extremely narrow British loading gauges. In combination with missing electrification, this leads to costly developments such as the bi-mode Class 802 with no chance to ever sell it on the world market.
Given a train lasts 25 years, these costs will have to be paid four times in a century, adding to rising train fares. In contrast, widening platforms, tunnels and bridges is a one-off investment and will save a lot in the long term, especially for future HS2 services beyond Birmingham.
Furthermore, longer coaches and double-decker trains could run on the network. For example, the Class 385/1 offers 273 seats on a 92-metre length (an average of 2.97 seats/m), whereas the double-decker Bombardier Twindexx Vario (ET 446) provides 403 seats on 105.5 metres (equivalent to 3.82 seats/m).
Although both are four-car electric multiple units, the double-decker boosts seating capacity per meter by 30% and cycle storage from two to 12 places. Typical for new continental gauge trains, it provides step-free and gap-free entry as spaceconsuming components are fitted on the roof - making railway travel comfortable for the elderly, and accessible without assistance for wheelchair users.
All in all, enlarging the loading gauge provides accessible trains with significantly higher capacity and saves us from dumping billions into motorway OLE and special train designs, thereby making Britain’s railways ready for the future.
Isn’t this worth spending slightly more when you need to move bridges and enlarge tunnels anyway?
Paul Fremdling, Reading