A Bucks councillor has slammed plans for a new railway line to use diesel trains rather than electric ones.
Cllr Ed Gemmell hit out at the greenhouse gas emissions target for the new East West Rail line, which will run through Buckinghamshire from Cambridge to Oxford, passing through a new station at Winslow.
The leader of the Climate party criticised the lack of a specific date by which the railway “aims to have Net Zero” carbon dioxide emissions, the release of which drives of global warming.
He said: “It is absolutely pathetic. And the statement that ‘our aim is completely Net Zero’ – well when?
“By the point we have 40 degrees, 45 degrees? By the point we get a picture of a child being pulled out of the wreckage of a train because it has been burnt up in a heatwave?”
Cllr Gemmell and other members grilled members of the East West Rail Alliance, which is delivering the new line, during Buckinghamshire Council’s Transport, Environment & Climate Change Select Committee meeting on Thursday.
The members questioned why the railway would operate diesel trains when it opens in 2025, despite the government planning to phase out all diesel-only trains by 2040.
Conservative Cllr Caroline Cornel told the meeting that she was worried about children breathing in pollution from the diesel trains.
She said: “When this train stops at Winslow it is right beside a school and diesel particulates are a prime reason for childhood asthma.”
Cllr Cornel also questioned why electric trains could not be used for East West Rail, or hybrid ones such as Chiltern Railways’ HybridFLEX model, which runs on diesel and electricity.
Cllr Gemmell also asked if it was because using diesel trains would help the company “save money”.
A representative of EWR replied to Cllr Gemmell, saying that the first trains running on the line will be diesel-powered, but that that may change in the future.
She told the Committee: “It is not ideal, but that is to get passenger services up and running as quickly as possible.”
She added: “The decision on the long-term fleet is still yet to be made between the Department for Transport and the East West Rail company”.
The rail chief said they were exploring all power modes, including electric, and insisted that the decision to use diesel trains was “not about cost”.
East West Rail is set to cost up to £7 billion, while the company has estimated that full electrification of the line could cost up to a further £1 billion.
Princes Risborough Police Station needs ‘appropriate’ plan after ‘poor’ homes refused
Police investigating attempted burglary in High Wycombe
CCTV image released following theft in Aylesbury
Kicking off anti-social behaviour week
Bonuses for Bucks Fire and Rescue Service execs ‘inappropriate’ warns councillor
Appeal for witnesses following attempted robbery in High Wycombe
Ducks fans waddle to raise money for Aylesbury charity
High Wycombe Fire Station should be ‘knocked down’ says Bucks Fire and Rescue officer
