Rail industry urges shorter trains off-peak to cut carbon emissions

Dan Milmo
The Guardian, Thursday 28 May 2009

The rail industry is urging the government to run shorter trains in order to meet Britain's climate change obligations. Removing carriages outside rush hour would conserve energy and reinforce rail's reputation as one of the greenest modes of transport, says an industry manifesto published today.
Network Rail, owner of rail infrastructure, and the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) argue they can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2020 by running shorter trains at off-peak times. Network Rail said: "It's about matching supply to demand and not transporting carriages full of air around the country."
Train operators have also mooted cutting carriages in response to the recession, which is depressing passenger numbers and threatening the future of franchises that have pledged billions of pounds worth of payments to the government. Ministers have so far rejected the idea.
The rail industry also raises funding concerns in the planning document, entitled Britain's Railway from 2014. It warns that the latest five-year plan for the railways, which runs until 2014, might have overestimated passenger numbers.
Railway funding over the next five years is predicated on farepayers footing three-quarters of the bill by 2014. However, Atoc has warned that total passenger numbers could fall over the next two years, contradicting expectations in the five-year plan of 3% annual passenger growth. Industry commentators have said that could result in franchises handing back contracts.
The document advocates an ambitious five-year plan from 2014 onwards, including a high speed line linking London to Birmingham and the north; more station improvements; electrification; and a bigger push for rail freight. It warns that urban rail services in south-east England are reaching capacity, even with the longer trains due by the middle of the next decade. Ministers will have to consider building new lines or changing timetables.