Transport Insights

The transport stories you won't see in the industry-friendly media

Author

Chris Ames

Tag: climate change

  • No pledge of more cash as climate change wrecks rail routes

    I’ve previously raised the question about whether the government is putting sufficient cash into our transport networks to fund climate change adaption, with ministers often just saying they are putting in more money rather than asserting that it’s enough.

    But a new written parliamentary answer from transport minister Keir Mather doesn’t even bother to address the question of whether there will be more money.

    Asked by Sarah Dyke, Liberal Democrat MP for Glastonbury and Somerton:

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will provide additional funding to help mitigate ongoing soil moisture deficit effects for railway companies.

    Mather gave a long and rambling reply on behalf of Heidi Alexander that began with a description of the problem…

    The Department for Transport funds Network Rail to operate, maintain, and develop the nation’s railway infrastructure. As the climate changes, we expect to see hotter, drier summers, and therefore we will expect to encounter more instances of soil moisture deficit.

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  • Alexander gives mixed messages on resilience cash

    The transport secretary has declined to say that she is confident that Network Rail has the funds to keep the railway safe as landslips hit the rail and road networks, driven by climate change.

    Appearing before the Transport Committee, Heidi Alexander was asked by Rebecca Smith, Conservative MP for South West Devon, if she was

    confident that Network Rail has the resources to safely maintain the railway network during this control period.

    Her reply emphasized that spending has gone up, which it has, rather than answering what is the real question:

    We are spending more money in Control Period 7 on activities to address improving resilience connected to weather and climate change. So climate change adaptation, I guess, is the phrase that I’m searching for. So in Control Period 7, we’re spending 2.6 billion, which is significantly more than we were spending in Control Period 6. So I think it’s right that the Network Rail are doing that because they are very alive to the challenges that changing weather patterns have for the rail network.

    Smith had referenced a recent incident in Cumbria, i.e. the derailment of a train caused by a landslip onto the track. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has said its preliminary examination found that a drainage channel running across the slope above the washed-out material, was unable to accommodate the volume of water present, saturating the material and initiating the landslip.

    But, as this BBC report points out in a detailed piece that looks at the wider issue, that was followed by a landslip affecting the A592 in the region, which Westmorland and Furness Council said could be closed for months. After Storm Desmond in 2015, the nearby A591 was blocked by landslips that both blocked the road and washed its base away.

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  • Cumbria derailment “a wake-up call”

    With rail getting all the funding it needs, the local LibDem MP has used the derailment of a passenger train in Cumbria to highlight the risk of landslips on the rail network as climate change increases the risks.

    A high-speed Avanti West Coast train said to be travelling at around 80mph partly derailed after hitting a landslide in Cumbria early this morning.

    The operator said all 86 people plus its train crew were evacuated to a nearby hotel and were were assessed by paramedics, with four treated for minor injuries but none requiring hospital treatment.

    Former LibDem leader Tim Farron called for an investigation into whether enough resources were being spent on the line.

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  • Reeves boosts climate change for a slogan

    The line from chancellor Rachel Reeves that the green light for more carbon emissions from Gatwick shows that the government is “backing the builders, not the blockers” tells you all you need to know about how serious a government this is.

    It is government by slogan and forget the climate emergency.

    On LinkedIn, Alex Chapman of the New Economics Foundation points out just how flimsy the economic case is, highlighting a section of the decision letter that shows that the socioeconomic case only provides a “moderate” case in favour of Gatwick’s plans to fly more people abroad to boost other countries’ economies.

    Chapman also points out that ministers are trashing their own climate plans:

    He concludes:

    Proceeding was the politically easiest option, but it was not responsible, nor was it evidence-based.

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