Question
A £1 billion order for 29 new five-car, battery-electric trains for TransPennine Express was recently announced. While welcome, it has raised some eyebrows, with Modern Railways magazine estimating that the cost is nearly double that of conventional electric-only trains. It would cost a staggering £25.2 billion for similar deals to replace England’s passenger trains that have diesel engines. Are we on the right value-for-money track with this approach to rolling stock specification and procurement?
Answer
I was delighted to be in Derby a few weeks ago to announce the new fleet of battery-electric trains for TransPennine Express. It is a £1.2 billion investment. Included in that are hundreds of millions of pounds of maintenance costs for the duration of that contract. We are working on procurements for both Southeastern trains and Northern trains at the moment. Value for money and affordability will be central to the decisions we make on those procurements.
Verdict: AMBER (30/100)
The reply gives the £1.2 billion investment figure for the battery-electric trains and notes that maintenance costs are included, but it does not assess whether the trains offer value for money or compare them with conventional electric-only trains. On the wider question of value for money in future rail procurements, it makes general commitments without giving a view on whether the current approach, including using battery-electric trains to replace diesel, represents good value. Both parts of the question are only partly answered, and the answer is largely hedged, so the person who asked would likely need to submit a follow-up for a specific comparison and assessment.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the department's assessment of the value for money of the 29 battery-electric trains ordered for TransPennine Express, compared with conventional electric-only trains? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply gives the £1.2 billion investment figure and notes that maintenance costs are included, which are relevant cost data for the TransPennine Express fleet. It never assesses value for money or compares the battery-electric trains with conventional electric-only trains, which is the core of the question. |
| What is the department's view on whether its approach to rolling stock specification and procurement, including the use of battery-electric trains to replace diesel passenger trains, represents good value for money? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply commits that value for money and affordability will be central to the upcoming Southeastern and Northern procurements, which speaks to the procurement approach. It does not give a view on whether the existing approach, including the diesel-replacement use of battery-electric trains, represents good value, and it offers no supporting evidence for that view. |