Transport expert attacks electrification backdown
THE UK Government’s decision to run trains on diesel power from Cardiff to Swansea rather than deliver full electrification on the Great Western Line has been condemned as a “cheap way out of an embarrassing problem”.
Transport expert Roger Ford delivered a scathing critique when he appeared before the Westminster Welsh Affairs Committee’s investigation into the cancellation of the electrification project.
Mr Ford, the industry and technology editor of Modern Railways, said: “It’s an easy way out.”
Plans to electrify the line between Cardiff and Swansea were ditched in July. The scrapping of this and other electrification projects came against a backdrop of concern about escalating costs. Earlier in the year, the Public Accounts Committee had noted that the estimated cost of electrifying the stretch of the railway between Maidenhead and Cardiff had jumped by £1.2bn to £2.8bn.
Mr Ford said: “Essentially, after privatisation a lot of engineering skills were lost, management skills were lost, we forgot how to do electrification.”
Under the new arrangements, “bimode” trains will run on the electrified line as far as Cardiff and then switch to diesel power.
In his written evidence for the committee, Mr Ford said the argument that bi-mode trains were an “acceptable” option was “not based on a detailed technical and commercial comparison of the alternatives”.
He said: “To be blunt, the claim that bi-mode trains will provide passengers with the same quality of service is a face-saving attempt to justify cancellation of the onward electrification from Cardiff to Swansea.”
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns has argued that electrification from Cardiff to Swansea would “not save passengers any significant journey time”, but Mr Ford said electric trains offered other advantages including better “operating costs, environmental impact, energy efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort.”
He said bi-mode trains would have to carry “up to 10 tonnes of diesel power pack and fuel under 60% of its coaches” and that “performance is thus degraded in both modes by either excessive weight or lack of power”.
He added: “Electric traction equipment is simpler, lighter and offers more power for a given weight compared with diesel equipment. As a result, electric trains are lighter.
“This is reflected in the capital and operating costs... Electric train maintenance costs are typically 33% lower than a comparable diesel train.
“Energy costs of electric traction are typically 45% lower than diesel...
“In addition to greater energy efficiency, other environmental benefits of electric trains include zero emissions at point of use, the ability to exploit low-carbon sources of energy such as solar and wind power, and quieter operation.”
The UK Government Department for Transport states in its evidence to the committee: “Bi-modes allow us to take advantage of state-of-the-art technology to improve journeys for passengers by reducing the up-front capital costs of infrastructure, because wires and gantries do not need to be installed along entire routes . ... Passengers in south Wales are expected to benefit from the same journey savings with bi-mode trains that they would have from full electric trains running under wires.”