In 2018, the Railway Industry Association (RIA) launched a new initiative to see how the costs of rail electrification schemes could be reduced. This initiative has become known as the Electrification Cost Challenge. It brings together a number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors, consultants and suppliers of electrification infrastructure together with other stakeholders to investigate why costs are high and what can
be done to reduce them. This report will:
- Set out the benefits of electrification for passengers and customers, and how it supports the Government’s Decarbonisation Challenge;
- Summarise UK electrification strategy since 2007;
- Discuss the Great Western Electrification Project (GWEP) and the reasons that it failed;
- Highlight the lessons that have been learnt as well as evidence that electrification can be, and is being, delivered for between 33%-50% of the costs of some recent projects using examples from around the UK and internationally.
To download the report click here.