Rail freight operator DB Schenker reckons that the government’s plan to electrify UK rail will pave the way for further carbon reductions and quicken the move of freight off road and onto rail.
The Great Western main line is a key corridor for transporting stone and other materials to London for construction projects. Schenker says that faster and longer freight trains would operate between the aggregate supply points and London on an electrified rail route.
Graham Smith, planning director for DB Schenker Rail (UK), said: “An announcement by the government to electrify the Great Western main line would mark the beginning of a new era for the railway in Britain.
“The railway is already the low carbon transport mode of choice for freight users, and electrification allows further carbon reductions to be made. The announcement would put modal shift from road to rail at the centre of the government’s low carbon transport policy.”
The company thinks this will open up the opportunity to use higher and wider freight wagons, and that main line and infill electrification will help rail freight’s competitiveness by allowing faster and longer freight trains.
