Rail Electrification
6th August 2009
In a recent announcement by Andrew Adonis (Transport Secretary) it was reavealed that the government will be funding electrification of two rail lines, London to Swansea and Liverpool to Manchester, at an estimated cost of £1bn. Electrification is estimated to make trains 30% more efficient to run, which means they are cheaper to run and produce less CO2.
What surprised me about the announcement was his mention of their estimate that the project will take 40 years to pay for itself. To me its a breath of fresh air for a government to be thinking about the long term future in this way, and commiting to investment that will pay off in the long term rather than only thinking as far as the next election.