RSSB2755 - T1160 - Decarbonisation and air quality improvement a roadmap for the Rail Freight Industry

Following the emergence of a strong global scientific consensus and consequent development of UN frameworks on climate change, the UK parliament enacted the Climate Change Act 2008. This established enabling legislation to put in place plans, frameworks and programmes to reduce the UK's carbon impacts, including the transport and energy sectors. This was to ensure the total carbon emission from the six major greenhouse gases by 2050 is at least 80% lower than the 1990 level & . Furthermore, in Feb 2018, the Minister of Transport Jo Johnson expressed a goal to decarbonise the rail industry and an ambition to remove all diesel-only locomotives from the industry by 2040.

The major components of gaseous emissions impacting global warming potential include carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane, various nitrous oxides (NOx) and aldehydes.

The rail industry generates less carbon than road transport2 (with rail representing 1.6% of all emissions from transport), and transport is not amongst the top carbon intensive industries in the UK2. However, the existing freight rail fleet locomotives do not exhibit the same air quality standards as the new HGV fleet when normalised to power output. Current diesel freight operation, when using urban lines, yards and stations along its routes, has the potential to be running against the requirements for city-wide implementation of strict air quality regulations.

The ongoing RSSB project, T1145, seeks to understand how diesel-only trains may be removed from the network and considers traction options as part of wider work on rail decarbonisation. The work completed in this project has highlighted the major challenges faced by the freight fleet in achieving the stated targets. The report from phase 1 of T1145 has already identified that the two principle alternative energy sources identified as possible replacements for diesel, hydrogen fuel cells and battery power, cannot deliver the power and performance characteristics the freight industry needs as currently operating. T1145 identifies biodiesel as an alternative, but additionally recognises the limitation in supply. It is not expected that T1145, within its defined scope of work, will be able identify solutions that are technically, commercially and politically viable for rail freight. Context of operations of the rail freight sector can be found in Annex A.

Hence the need to explore in greater detail than T1145 was remitted to do the issues for traction options specific to freight to support positive decision making. Consideration will need to be given to transitional and long-term arrangements for the replacement of the current diesel-only rail freight fleet, and will have to be carefully planned to meet the 2040 goal.