‘The Railway Electrification: Time for a policy reset?’ Evening lecture held by the IET Central London Network at the IET Savoy Place gave good debatable insights into how Government policies should now consider approaches like Electrification. The event was presented in collaboration with the Railway Association and the IMeche. Speakers included Andy Mellors Managing Director of South Western Railway, David Clarke Technical Director of Railway Industry Association and Iain Flynn Technical Director of Synergy Rail Limited.
The evening was a thought provoking attempt by the Railway Industry Association and Professional Institutions to persuade Government to change its policy on Electrification on the basis that it can be delivered at a lower cost if there is a long term investment plan that allows the supply chain to deliver efficiently and that it is best for the environment.
Andy discussed that in the scenarios of Hydrogen Power, Diesel and Electrification from a renewable energy source perspective, that to deliver 1kw, Electrification is far more an efficient carbon source, but it is not a silver bullet. David further talked about how misaligned incentives can create challenges – which have been evident since the 1950’s and that it is now better to be realistic when considering railway projections, such as cost drivers with respect to complexities actually involved.
The current infrastructure dates back to 1840 whose original principles to policy might have been influenced on the economies of scale particular at that time (and of course the availability of energy). To put it into perspective, currently about 14,000 assets are non-diesel and about 3,000 assets are diesel, so it is only natural that the Governments policy today should look to lay the foundations of future proofing the railway ecosystem by lessons learned from history or as the event suggests, reviewing the advantages of an Electrification ecosystem.
See what was said about Hyperloop during Q & A by watching the entire live stream here.
The presentations are available on http://bit.ly/2H9SUEU and http://bit.ly/307nR5i.
Andy discussed that in the scenarios of Hydrogen Power, Diesel and Electrification from a renewable energy source perspective, that to deliver 1kw, Electrification is far more an efficient carbon source, but it is not a silver bullet. David further talked about how misaligned incentives can create challenges – which have been evident since the 1950’s and that it is now better to be realistic when considering railway projections, such as cost drivers with respect to complexities actually involved.
The current infrastructure dates back to 1840 whose original principles to policy might have been influenced on the economies of scale particular at that time (and of course the availability of energy). To put it into perspective, currently about 14,000 assets are non-diesel and about 3,000 assets are diesel, so it is only natural that the Governments policy today should look to lay the foundations of future proofing the railway ecosystem by lessons learned from history or as the event suggests, reviewing the advantages of an Electrification ecosystem.
See what was said about Hyperloop during Q & A by watching the entire live stream here.
The presentations are available on http://bit.ly/2H9SUEU and http://bit.ly/307nR5i.