APPGHR publishes coal report
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail publishes its much-anticipated coal report.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail says that railways’ confidence in their future supply of coal would be improved if the Government considered planning applications for extending existing open-cast coal mines.
This statement is one of several recommendations made in the group’s ‘Steaming Ahead: Heritage railways, coal and the future of steam locomotives in the United Kingdom’ report, published on July 18.
It comes just months after the APPGHR launched its investigation into the current coal crisis, prompted by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ proposal to ban the sale of bituminous coal for household use by 2022. The investigation and publication of the report have been “on an accelerated timescale due to the imminence of strategic plans and legislation relating to climate change,” said APPGHR chairman the Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP.
In its conclusions, the APPGHR said: “Whilst other fuels have been tried, coal is the only practical fuel for steam locomotives. The Government’s policy… will reduce demand for domestic coal, with the likely consequence that the mining of British coal suitable for steam locomotives will cease.
“Future coal supplies for heritage railways will be more expensive as an unintended consequence of Government policy, and may result in the curtailment of some heritage railway operations, or even line closures, as these are marginally profitable businesses.
“The Minister’s confirmation that there is no intention to prevent coal burning for steam locomotives is welcome, but needs to be written into the Government’s strategy and any subsequent legislation. Its value is undermined if other aspects of the policy prevent future supplies or increase their cost dramatically.”
The report adds that: “Heritage railways may be able to secure a better price for their coal through exploring joint purchases”, but that “to establish a co-ordinated purchasing organisation by
(for example) the HRA would involve set-up costs of around £1.5 million.”
The APPGHR report recommends that: “In the short term, confidence in supply would be improved if consideration for planning applications for extending existing open-cast sites could be expedited and an easement in the timescale for restrictions on domestic coal burning would allow a transition from indigenous to imported coal to be managed more effectively.
“The relevant Government departments (DEFRA, DCMS and Transport) should establish a group now with the Heritage Railway Association and the coal suppliers to explore ways to continue to supply heritage railways with suitable coal for the long-term future, and how that might be funded.”
Ms Morgan added: “In this classic case of the law of unintended consequences, we need to find a way to enable heritage railways to continue steaming into the future. We intend to pursue this with the Government departments and ministers involved over the next few months.”
●● The APPGHR acknowledged that Steam Railway’s in-depth analysis of the current coal situation had “helped inform the discussion.”