The UK needs a programme of rail electrification to be implemented “immediately” in order to meet its revised net zero commitments, according to 17 rail industry bodies, businesses and campaign groups. An open letter to transport secretary Grant Shapps says that it “will be impossible to decarbonise rail without further electrification”. The calls for electrification come after the government committed to reducing the UK’s carbon emissions by 78% by 2035. The letter is accompanied by a new report Why Rail Electrification? which sets out why – even with the development of clean new technologies like battery and hydrogen trains – the industry will be unable to decarbonise the rail network to the extent required without significant further electrification.