HRA RESPONDS TO COAL REGULATION WARNING

The Heritage Railway Association has responded to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) consultation on coal burning in the UK. Although the consultation does not specifically target the use of coal on steam railways, the HRA is concerned that the proposed tightened regulations on domestic coal burning could be expanded and encompass steam locomotives and other coal-fired preserved traction. Steve Oates, the HRA’s newly appointed chief executive officer (see below), says: “If the Government seeks to introduce a ban on the use of coal then clearly we would seek a full exemption. “While railways are conscious of the environmental considerations of burning coal, we recognise that the environmental imprint from steam locomotives is relatively tiny. It has been estimated that one year’s emissions from all the world’s steam locomotives amount to less than six minutes’ worth of emissions from one coal-fired power station. “We are therefore urging a sense of proportion and balance and… if following the DEFRA consultation a ban on most commercial uses comes into force, then the last remaining UK mines may close and preserved railways will need to seek imports, and to also find ways of minimising coal usage while balancing this against retaining the heritage characteristics of steam locomotives. “In the UK, we are confident of coal supplies for at least the next five years and we are not aware of any railways currently experiencing difficulties in securing supplies.”