Are rising oil prices hastening carbon free rail?

While high oil prices are good for bus and rail use, the pressure is on for the electric railway to become carbon neutral, says George Muir. But with the carbon intensity of UK?power generation set to rise, a lot more is needed

Whatever else it has done, the high oil price has certainly shone a spotlight on the advantages of public transport. Car travel flat, bus and rail up. The oil price is falling now, but don’t relax; the price of electricity has just hit a new peak.

But do these high prices at least have the advantage of discouraging the use of carbon based fuels and are they hastening the time when the railway, like Eurostar, can offer passengers carbon neutral travel?

The Office of Rail Regulation, in...

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