I think Fife will be sooner than that. I'm guessing it will follow on after East Kilbride. But we desperately need to see the decarbonisation strategy refresh, now almost certain not to meet the promised publication by the end of this year.
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Haymarket to Dalmeny electrification
- Thread starter diamond chap
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RailUK Forums
Weathering trials of OHLE equipment for the Forth Bridge is a blatant delaying tactic. Does NR think we are so gullible?
They have been testing galvanised steel cantilevers/gantries at Hest Bank where the prevailing wind in the last 50 years has been mostly onshore from Morecambe Bay heavily salt laden. No replacement of cantilevers in all that time.
The iron bridge itself is 133 years old and is still fit for purpose as it is maintained well and coated against salt air.
In the same timeframe, railings on Morecambe seafront have completely rusted being iron. What is there more salt resistant than aluminium apart from wood that rots in a humid atmosphere and plastic that becomes brittle with time.
We have been told that the bridge can be electrified so what is the hold up. When Haymarket- Dalmeny is complete the teams should just extend over the bridge and into Fife as far as they can until bimodes are delivered.
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GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Without getting too much into speculative territory, my guess is everything is pushed back by 5 years.
Think its called budget cuts and the planned dates are being revised.
The BCR for A9 dualling is less than one so Transport Scotland had to invent a new benefit which puts a monetary value on reducing ‘driver frustration’ in order to get the BCR to just over one.
No idea but SPL Powerlines are the contractors who were reported in 2022 as having the Haymarket-Dalmeny job.
A web search for the company's name finds this recent Rail Engineer article, which confirms the current financial woes of the decarbonisation programme.
Electrifying Scotland - Rail Engineer
Listen to this article The Airdrie to Bathgate (A2B) project, which opened in 2010, included 108 single track kilometres (stk) of electrification. This new Scottish line was the first substantial UK electrification project since the Paddington to Heathrow Express electrification in 1997. As well...
www.railengineer.co.uk
Think it has been delayed due to a lack of cash.
Who knows a new financial year next week. May start up again. However SPL are busy doing the East Kilbride electrification for now. So very doubtful.
There was this op-ed in The Scotsman last week which didn't make for great reading.
www.scotsman.com
Will scrapping ScotRail’s diesel trains by 2035 be the SNP’s latest failed transport target?
“Refresh” of Transport Scotland’s “decarbonisation action plan” not due until “later this year”
www.scotsman.com
Nicholas Lewis
Established Member
Humaz Yousaf priorities lie in health and education as they are what will get them re-elected and retain power in Holyrood so its inevitable this plan will drift back and Transport Scotland ought to provide more clarity for the supply chain.There was this op-ed in The Scotsman last week which didn't make for great reading.
Will scrapping ScotRail’s diesel trains by 2035 be the SNP’s latest failed transport target?
“Refresh” of Transport Scotland’s “decarbonisation action plan” not due until “later this year”
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I wouldn't blame it on Yusuf or his priorities. I suspect it would have been no different if Sturgeon had remained FM. Several well-known factors have caused huge increases in costs, and the UK chancellor has introduced unfunded tax cuts.
Nicholas Lewis
Established Member
No blame apportioned just a reality check on the situation and better Yousaf secures the future for teh SNP as that is what will drive decarbonisation forward even if it now takes an extra 5-10 years.
Separately the cost of East Kilbride shows that all in infrastructure costs are below 3m/stkm but the total cost of the project is double that at c140m and that buys you several new schools or a small hospital
It's all down to budget cuts and how and where you want to spent the scarce funds.
The target was never a pure 2035 one it was most of electrification done by 2035. This was quietly kicked to back to a 2040 most of electrification target last year with subtle mentions but not a huge announcement - even DfT didn't pick up the subtleness for a while.
Electrification costs in Scotland vary quite a bit depending on:
1) who built the original line which hugely impacts structure clearances
2) number / length of problematic structure on the route
3) the state of the rest of the infrastructure which might also need once in X generations work in the near term.
I agree. So many times, the cost of electrification (specifically by OLE) is presumed prohibitive because of 100+ year old infrastructure that has been carrying way more than it's designers ever envisaged needing replacement, when if no electrificartion was to be undertaken, the infrastructure would be replaced in a few years anyway before it fell down.
Those that would need to make the financial provision frequently cite the argument that if nothing was done no money needs to be spent.
Charged up
Member
No idea but SPL Powerlines are the contractors who were reported in 2022 as having the Haymarket-Dalmeny job.
A web search for the company's name finds this recent Rail Engineer article, which confirms the current financial woes of the decarbonisation programme.
Electrifying Scotland - Rail Engineer
Listen to this article The Airdrie to Bathgate (A2B) project, which opened in 2010, included 108 single track kilometres (stk) of electrification. This new Scottish line was the first substantial UK electrification project since the Paddington to Heathrow Express electrification in 1997. As well...
The 2020 TS - Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan, extract below from page 31, was always built on extremely shaky foundations and was launched by Michael Matheson MSP (where is he now!?!). It included the following delusional, fingers crossed, wishful thinking that somehow NwR could get to a £1M stk delivery point for OHL installation.
This dream has, unsurprisingly, failed to be delivered across the very limited, GLC-Barrhead & EK routes (c. 13 miles) which is both late and over budget already. The promised DAP refresh, one year late already, is something which TS/ SG hope people will forget about.
The failure to pursue and progress, new rolling stock with either battery and/or hydrogen power on board in 2021/22 as they best way to remove DMUs efficiently is firmly on the TS hierachy. We can all remember those who repeatedly championed ELECTRIFICATION as the only way to deliver the high level 2035 rail target which is now evident as completely unaffordable and undeliverable nonsense. Indeed this plan is now looking as if it was only grandstanding to push the "look at us we are doing better than the rest of GB" by delivering big masts, poles and suspended wires which the Government grasped due to the message it would allow it to shout about rather than it being backed by substance and truth.