
References: 1 (a) Northern Sparks March 2015 task force reporthttps://transportforthenorth.com/wp-content/uploads/EFT_Report_FINAL_web.pdf gave highest ranking to Calder Valley line on economic, business and environmental criteria
(b) Electric Railway Charter, launched May 2018 by four rail user groups on the Calder Valley Line, backed by two Railfuture branches, calling for go-ahead on electrification (latest blog at www.electriccharter.wordpress.com)
(c) TDNS Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy – Interim Programme Business Case (networkrail.co.uk) (Network Rail, 2020. Recommends about 85% of unelectrified routes should be electrified – rest battery or hydrogen.)
2 RIA (Rail Industry Association) see for example Electrification Cost Challenge Report (riagb.org.uk) and Why rail electrification www.riagb.org.uk/WhyElectrification in www.riagb.org.uk/RailDecarb21
NPR has been watered down but now commitment is needed to development of regional routes such as the Calder Valley line.
In our media statement after publication of the Integrated Rail Plan we:
- welcome the IRP plan to electrify Leeds-Bradford. This should be part of full Calder Valley line electrification within next decade, a key element of transport decarbonisation.
- call for rolling programme of electrification across the North as recommended in the 2015 “Northern Sparks” task force report which gave top ranking to the Calder Valley line from Leeds to both Manchester and Preston.
- say Transport for the North, unjustly shorn by Whitehall of responsibility for NPR, should now focus on improving services on strategic regional routes like the Calder Valley line. Today’s rail users should be prioritised over arguments about projects that “many will not live to see”.
Campaigners for the Electric Railway Charter have welcomed plans outlined in the Government’s integrated rail plan (IRP) to electrify the line from Leeds to Bradford. They say this must be part of a regional and national rolling programme of electrification, as recommended nearly seven years ago by the Northern Sparks task force report and more recently by Network Rail traction decarbonization network strategy (TDNS). [See note 1 at end.]
The aim should be a low-energy, zero-carbon railway for passengers and freight.
The full Calder Valley line from Yorkshire to Manchester and Preston was given top ranking by the 2015 task force on economic, business and environmental criteria. The Rail Industry Association has since shown that a rolling programme could cut costs of electrifying by up to 50%. Electric trains are clean, quiet, good on routes like the Calder Valley with lots of stops, and cheaper to build and maintain than alternative traction. The quest for zero-carbon transport means diesel trains are on the way out. Electric trains offer energy efficiency of about 80 percent, compared with battery trains (65%), and hydrogen trains (34% or less – meaning at least 66% of energy wasted). [See note 2 below.]
Richard Lysons, joint coordinator of the Electric Railway Charter said:
“We have been waiting nearly seven years for progress on electrification schemes promised in 2015, including our Calder Valley line between from Leeds, through Bradford and Calderdale to Rochdale, Manchester and Preston. Announcement of Leeds-Bradford electrification is welcome but is just a small part of what we need.
“The government must end stop-start planning and commit to a rolling programme cutting installation costs. Electric trains are cheaper to build and operate and can carry more passengers in greater comfort. They are simpler, lighter weight, giving energy savings that are vital if we are to decarbonize.”
Stephen Waring, chair of HADRAG added:
“A pure electric train is spectacularly more energy efficient than one powered by batteries or hydrogen. It wastes much less energy. This is vital to help decarbonization, both for passenger trains and for the heavy freights that come along the Calder Valley.”
“Whatever Grant Shapps said, most of the new lines in the IRP will not happen before 2040 and even then will do little for Calder Valley line users who need improvement much sooner.
“So we need the bottlenecks unblocking now to help get a decent service at our local stations. That means getting started on the shovel-ready Huddersfield-Dewsbury four tracking project, so we can have more trains through Brighouse and Elland. And sorting out Manchester so Bradford, Calderdale and Rochdale trains can get to the south side of the city and the airport, as promised years ago.
“Transport for the North has been unjustly shorn of responsibility for NPR, threatening the subnational body’s existence. TfN should transform this threat into an opportunity to prioritise early improvement of regional routes like the Calder Valley over high-speed links many of us may not live to see.”