SWISS RAILWAYS ARE BETTER THAN EVER

While the cost of diesel fuel goes up and up each week due to the war in the Gulf, the UK still has less than 50% of its rail network electrified. Hopefully, Rail will be prioritised as an essential service if diesel fuel has to be rationed in the near future.UK Government policy seems to be “Anything but Electrification” in recent years. All we seem to hear is talk about battery trains, hydrogen trains and “Discontinuous Electrification”. This in stark contrast to the Swiss who now have a virtually 100% electric railway powered from mainly renewable sources which are not affected by the Gulf War. While train fares and much else are not that cheap in Switzerland the service is

CLIMATE CHANGE HITS 3 KEY EUROPEAN RAIL ARTERIES

At a time when we need to use our European Rail Network more than ever, 3 separate extreme weather events blocked 3 important rail routes during August and September. (1) On the 7th of August during “Storm Hans”, extreme rainfall and flooding caused the collapse of a bridge near Lillehammer on the main trunk line serving Northern Norway between Oslo and Trondheim. It will take a minimum of 3 months to restore any kind of service. There is only one alternative slower route with limited capacity. (2) On the 27th of August there was a very large rockfall near Modane which blocked the key Transalpine link between France and Italy. It is estimated that it will take a minimum of