Electrified East West Rail being considered

“It is short-sighted to invest in any new piece of railway which is not electrified,” the National Infrastructure Commission’s Bridget Rosewell CBE told delegates during a Q&A session at RAIL’s National Rail Recovery Conference on February 23.

Rosewell was responding to a question about the decision not to initially electrify the East West Rail route reconnecting Oxford and Cambridge, which has been labelled a ‘mistake’ and a ‘missed opportunity’ by campaigners, MPs and industry experts ( RAIL 924).

The following day, Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines told the NRRC that he believed

EWR will eventually be electrified (see story, below).

Rosewell’s comments came a day after Baroness Vere had claimed in a Lords Written Reply that the EWR scheme aims to become a net-zero railway.

Responding to Lord Patten, Vere said: “A strategic objective of EWR is to provide a sustainable and value-for-money transport solution to support economic growth in the area. This is to be achieved by improving transport connections within the Oxford-Cambridge arc, and ensuring the line supports new housing development in the area.”

She also said the line was planned to be carrying passenger and freight services by the end of the decade, with service patterns currently being investigated.

Less than a week earlier, Vere had claimed on February 18 that: “The case for the electrification of East West Rail is being considered, which includes consideration of full electrification along the whole route, as well as options for partial electrification using batteryelectric hybrid rolling stock, or hydrogen traction.”

She had been responding to a Lords Written Question from Baroness Randerson about whether the entire EWR route would be wired - and if not, why not.