These plans have been around for a while and it's good that they're getting extra funding.

It's still extraordinary though that East-West rail isn't required to make even passive provision for overhead electrification. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55770529

A lot of the press around this focuses on passenger trains.

It's pretty basic thermodynamics despite what the government says; a fully electric passenger train will always be much more energy efficient than either battery or hydrogen power.

But much of the business case for East-West rail actually depends on freight - it reopens a collection of lines which together should take a whole load of lorries off the A14 and surrounding roads.

Long distance railway freight trains aren't going to be changing to hydrogen or battery power any time soon.

Neither technology currently is suited to running heavy freight trains over long distances.

Freight locomotives are expensive and designed to operate for decades.

If these important routes aren't electrified then freight trains will continue to be powered by diesel long in to the future, even at a time when road traffic could be largely electrified.

Ok, turns out that this isn't even new funding, the DfT just wanted a positive news story. FFS. https://twitter.com/RobLawrence/status/1352941669189038083?s=19

Another excellent thread on the absurdity of this. https://twitter.com/GarethDennis/status/1352934932830707713?s=19