HS2 Plan: Figures reveal Tories to miss clean rail target by 235 years

Only 179 kilometres of railway track were electrified last year, meaning it could take another 235 years to meet the Government's own net-zero rail target, analysis by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

It comes as the Government published its strategy today confirming cuts to the HS2 high speed rail line in Yorkshire and the East Midlands.

Today's plan has announced the electrification of "around 180 route miles" (289km), which is just 2.2% of the Government's target of electrifying 13,000km of railway track by 2050.

Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson, Sarah Olney MP, said:

"These figures are a huge embarrassment for the Government as they lift the lid on their shiny new rail plan. But it's hardly a shock - the Conservatives haven't hit their electrification targets in years.

"You only have to look as far as the new Oxford-Cambridge line - planned to be net-zero, but downgraded pretty quickly to dirty diesel.

"This is a record that speaks for itself: broken promises from an out of touch Conservative Government that is taking people for granted."

Erewash Liberal Democrat Spokesperson, James Archer, said:

"This is evident in the East Midlands where procrastination about HS2 has delayed the electricifcation of the Midland Mainline whcih should have been complteded by now. Though the government's recommitment to electrification in the Integrated Rail Plan is to be welcomed it must now start to deliver on that commitment."