I realise that earlier this year passed unremarked the date of a
prediction:

"Q47 Clive Efford: Mr Ford, you are critical of the
government’s position over electrification,
particularly the funding. What period do you think
is realistic to expect the railway to pay back capital
investment in things like electrification?

Mr Ford: Capital investment is always paid back
over 30 to 35 years and one of the most appalling
pieces of anything about electrification in the White
Paper was the suggestion that because we might
have fuel cell power trains using hydrogen developed
from bionic duckweed in 15 years’ time and we
might have to take the wires down and it would all
be wasted, electrification should pay back in ten to
15 years. I thought that was one of the best examples
of technical illiteracy in the government I have
come across."

House of Commons Transport Committee, 9 January 2008
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmtran/219/219.pdf

How is the bionic duckweed coming along, one wonders?
And, for that matter, the electrification.

Theo

On 02/11/2023 16:35, Theo wrote:
> I realise that earlier this year passed unremarked the date of a
> prediction:
>
>
> "Q47 Clive Efford: Mr Ford, you are critical of the
> government’s position over electrification,
> particularly the funding. What period do you think
> is realistic to expect the railway to pay back capital
> investment in things like electrification?
>
> Mr Ford: Capital investment is always paid back
> over 30 to 35 years and one of the most appalling
> pieces of anything about electrification in the White
> Paper was the suggestion that because we might
> have fuel cell power trains using hydrogen developed
> from bionic duckweed in 15 years’ time and we
> might have to take the wires down and it would all
> be wasted, electrification should pay back in ten to
> 15 years. I thought that was one of the best examples
> of technical illiteracy in the government I have
> come across."
>
> House of Commons Transport Committee, 9 January 2008
> https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmtran/219/219.pdf
>
>
> How is the bionic duckweed coming along, one wonders?
> And, for that matter, the electrification.
>

The bionic duckweed is probably closer to realisation than the rolling
programme of electrification.

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read.

Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
> I realise that earlier this year passed unremarked the date of a
> prediction:
>
>
> "Q47 Clive Efford: Mr Ford, you are critical of the
> government’s position over electrification,
> particularly the funding. What period do you think
> is realistic to expect the railway to pay back capital
> investment in things like electrification?
>
> Mr Ford: Capital investment is always paid back
> over 30 to 35 years and one of the most appalling
> pieces of anything about electrification in the White
> Paper was the suggestion that because we might
> have fuel cell power trains using hydrogen developed
> from bionic duckweed in 15 years’ time and we
> might have to take the wires down and it would all
> be wasted, electrification should pay back in ten to
> 15 years. I thought that was one of the best examples
> of technical illiteracy in the government I have
> come across."
>
> House of Commons Transport Committee, 9 January 2008
> https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmtran/219/219.pdf
>
>
> How is the bionic duckweed coming along, one wonders?
> And, for that matter, the electrification.

The DfT still uses the prospect of hydrogen power to avoid installing OHLE,
for example with EWR. And Chiltern is approaching the time when its DMUs
are coming up for replacement, and this would be the perfect time to
electrify its routes, but it's not even under consideration.

On 02/11/2023 16:44, Recliner wrote:
> Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>> I realise that earlier this year passed unremarked the date of a
>> prediction:
>>
>>
>> "Q47 Clive Efford: Mr Ford, you are critical of the
>> government’s position over electrification,
>> particularly the funding. What period do you think
>> is realistic to expect the railway to pay back capital
>> investment in things like electrification?
>>
>> Mr Ford: Capital investment is always paid back
>> over 30 to 35 years and one of the most appalling
>> pieces of anything about electrification in the White
>> Paper was the suggestion that because we might
>> have fuel cell power trains using hydrogen developed
>> from bionic duckweed in 15 years’ time and we
>> might have to take the wires down and it would all
>> be wasted, electrification should pay back in ten to
>> 15 years. I thought that was one of the best examples
>> of technical illiteracy in the government I have
>> come across."
>>
>> House of Commons Transport Committee, 9 January 2008
>> https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmtran/219/219.pdf
>>
>>
>> How is the bionic duckweed coming along, one wonders?
>> And, for that matter, the electrification.
>
> The DfT still uses the prospect of hydrogen power to avoid installing OHLE,
> for example with EWR. And Chiltern is approaching the time when its DMUs
> are coming up for replacement, and this would be the perfect time to
> electrify its routes, but it's not even under consideration.

On the basis of the likely standard of modern rolling stock I'd be
campaigning for a life extension of the existing diesel units if I lived
in the area.