The British freight rail company Freightliner will bring out diesel locomotives to tow freight trains instead of its electric locomotives, denouncing the sudden tripling of electricity prices.
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“Due to an unprecedented increase in electricity prices, Freightliner made the difficult decision to temporarily replace electric freight services with diesel services, in order to maintain a cost effective option for transporting freight (... ) vital across the UK, ”
a spokesperson told AFP on Thursday.
The price of electricity billed by Network Rail, the public operator of the tracks, has indeed more than tripled between September and October, she added.
"The most carbon-efficient way"
This decision comes less than three weeks before the COP26 on climate, in early November in Glasgow.
“Rail remains the most carbon-efficient way of transporting freight in Britain, even with diesel locomotives, with 76% less CO2 emissions for every tonne of freight carried by rail compared to road”
, noted the spokesperson.
The reduction is 99% with electric locomotives.
Freightliner, a subsidiary of the American group Genesee and Wyoming, normally runs 23 electric locomotives in Great Britain, around 10% of its fleet.
The UK has set itself the goal of getting diesel off the rails by 2040.
