Railways: Environment Protection
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the level of financial liability and mitigation costs required for Network Rail to meet its 2030 target under its Environmental Sustainability Strategy; and how much and what proportion of this funding is allocated toward the remediation of historic pollution sites along the rail lineside.
Answered by Keir Mather
Network Rail is working towards the strategic ambitions in the Greener Railway Strategy, published in 2025, which covers the period to 2030. This replaces the Environmental Sustainability Strategy.
Some of the plans set out in the Strategy have no direct funding associated with them as they cover planned improvements to ways of working, processes and standards; or relate to existing processes and systems and maintaining existing performance.
Where there are costs to implement the Strategy, these are assumed as part of spending plans published in Network Rail’s Delivery Plan (available online) but may not be disaggregated from broader plans.
There is no national allocation of funds to remediate historic pollution sites across the rail lineside. Where infrastructure works take place and remediation of land is required, the associated costs are incorporated within the scope of those works and funded accordingly.
An overall indication of cost allocation for remediating historic pollution is unavailable as this is determined on a case-by-case basis to ensure that funds are being appropriately allocated and spent.
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