Freightliner switches to diesel haulage for electric diagrams
Temporary move is due to ‘unprecedented’ increase in electricity prices.
RISING electricity prices have prompted Freightliner to temporarily use diesel locomotives on services diagrammed for electric haulage.
Making the announcement on October 12, the company said it was responding to an “unprecedented” increase
“in order to maintain a cost-effective solution for transporting essential goods and supplies around the UK”.
The sector’s representative body, the Rail Freight Group, said that a 210% leap in wholesale energy prices between September and October (ironically just as final preparations were being made for the UK’s hosting of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow) had meant neither operators nor customers could absorb the rise.
Other operators
Describing the increase as “challenging”, DB Cargo UK said it had no plans at present to suspend use of its Class 90 or 92 locomotives.
GB Railfreight declined to comment on the situation, but it is understood its current
Class 92 operations on the Caledonian Sleeper and heavy freight through the Channel Tunnel are unaffected.
Direct Rail Services indicated the possibility of alterations to fleet deployment if necessary. A spokesman commented:
“Our fleet of locomotives offers the flexibility to adapt to changing market conditions while maintaining a safe, secure and reliable service.
That might mean we change the type of traction we use on our train services in response to temporary fluctuations in energy prices.”
DRS told The RM that although it could move them to other duties if required, it had no plans to sideline its 10 Class 88s. These locomotives, the only ones in its fleet with electric capability, also have diesel engines that can maintain the same tractive effort as electric mode but less than 20% of the available power.
Energy policy
Currently a customer of EDF Energy, Network Rail (NR) is the single biggest consumer of electricity in the UK and procures traction electricity on behalf of operators.
Although costs for some are subject to the current market wholesale price, the Rail Delivery Group, which represents freight and passenger companies, says around 80% is managed through its EC4T Scheme Council. Clubbing together to buy EC4T (electric current for traction) in bulk via NR enables savings and a degree of protection from market fluctuation.
NR says its electricity costs and those of passenger operators were negotiated some time ago and are fixed for this year and most of next, adding that some operators lock prices up to three years ahead of delivery.
Freightliner has also raised concerns about levies set by the Government to subsidise renewable energy, which it says represent around 40% of the price.
A breakdown of traction electricity costs for 2021/22 from Network Rail shows no fewer than four separate entries related to renewable energy and a further cost element that helps to cover payments to renewable energy generators where there is insufficient grid capacity to get their energy to where it is needed.
RDG director general Andy Bagnall said: “With taxes now making up around 40% of the electricity costs for train operators, we are calling on the Government to use the levers of funding and taxation to encourage businesses and passengers alike to go green and use the train.”