| Bath Spa - call for electrification. Posted by grahame at 07:56, 12th December 2025 |     |
Bath Spa is the second busiest 2-platform UK Station outside London - it's incredible how many people get off and on trains there which are calling at each platform ten times an hour, all day. And yet almost every train there is running under diesel power. Wera Hobhouse, MP for Bath said in Parliament
Dirty diesel trains are still running through Bath, polluting our heritage city. As we look to improve our railways, we must include ways to make them cleaner and greener. We need a bold, ambitious electrification plan to deliver this
That quoted on social media, here is a selection of feedback comments
The new IET trains have modern diesel engines, and most of the HST's are now phased out, so not sure what the issue is with diesels polluting Bath
You can taste the Portsmouth to Cardiff diesels as they go past
Electric, Hydrogen powered and Solar powered trains are options for Great British Railways....
Bring back steam locomotives then !
So you also suggest electrifying the branch lines with routes going through Bath or closing them because that isn't economically viable?
Doh, Bath residents did all they could to stop the wires going through their beloved city.
Maybe you could also help with the increased pollution in the surrounding towns and villages that Bath caused with its “clean zone” - any ideas there? In reality, the problem has just been pushed out of bath and onto everyone else.
The UK already emits less than many developed countries. Until we have grid generation to support more electrification, we have to accept a small amount of pollution as the price to pay for public transport.
Currently the tax burden on the payer is higher than ever, and people are at breaking point - more tax won’t help and removing some trains won’t help either.
I think you need to reconsider this statement and avenue because it sounds utterly tone deaf and out of touch with the public.
The UK already emits less than many developed countries. Until we have grid generation to support more electrification, we have to accept a small amount of pollution as the price to pay for public transport.
Currently the tax burden on the payer is higher than ever, and people are at breaking point - more tax won’t help and removing some trains won’t help either.
I think you need to reconsider this statement and avenue because it sounds utterly tone deaf and out of touch with the public.
| Re: Bath Spa - call for electrification. Posted by anthony215 at 23:03, 12th December 2025 | |
Its long overdue wiring from filton and Chippenham to Bristol TM and Parson street
| Re: Bath Spa - call for electrification. Posted by infoman at 06:35, 13th December 2025 | |
Could new trains(a cheaper option?) on the London to Bristol route be run batteries between Bathampton and Oldfield Park?
| Re: Bath Spa - call for electrification. Posted by grahame at 06:46, 13th December 2025 | |
Could new trains(a cheaper option?) on the London to Bristol route be run batteries between Bathampton and Oldfield Park?
If the trains have batteries for more substantial parts of their journeys, there may be potential to explore the option. To my mind, though, having London to Bristol expresses equipped with batteries just for four or five miles doesn't feel economicaly sensible.
I quoted the comments on the original post to show just how complex the situation is, and how under informed some of the public are - no fault of their own; bright people just to experts in this complex world of railway provision and operation. I am struck by the irony of road vehicles being required to be clean through Bath in a way that trains are not, and the comment about the smell from passing Cardiff -> Portsmouth trains. Perhaps those (and the short runs on the same line) are a case for batteries initially, rather than the London trains for which I suggest that full electrification might be the better solution.
| Re: Bath Spa - call for electrification. Posted by Timmer at 08:11, 13th December 2025 | |
I did laugh at the ‘you can taste the Cardiff to Portsmouth diesels as they go past’. Oh please!!
That’s nothing compared to the original Valenta engines on an HST or the various other diesel locos that used to pass through Bath such as 37s, 47s and 50s when I was growing up. Happy days 
