NO FRENCH TRAINS WILL USE FOSSIL FUELS BY 2026, SAYS CHIRAC

NO FRENCH TRAINS WILL USE FOSSIL FUELS BY 2026, SAYS CHIRAC
07 Jan 2006

FRENCH trains will not use a drop of oil in 20 years' time, President Chirac has declared.

In a New Year message, reported by The Times newspaper and Reuters news agency, Chirac confirmed France’s commitment to nuclear power — as well as urging an accelerated development of solar energy and electric and hybrid diesel cars. In addition, he said he wants to see a fivefold increase in biomass fuels production over the next two years.

The French President said that as a result the country’s national rail operator, SNCF, and the Paris Metro operator, RATP, “should not consume a drop of oil in 20 years’ time.”

The Times reported that — with his pledge that no train in France would be powered by conventional fossil fuels by 2026 — M Chirac had stolen a march on UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s proposed energy review.

The President also called for the ITER project, an international experimental fusion reactor that will be based in southern France, to demonstrate “the ability to harness the energy of the sun by the end of the century.”

Acknowledging that ITER was a long-term project, M Chirac said that France would need to develop a fourth generation of nuclear reactors to take over in the 2030’s and 2040’s.

France’s present “second generation” nuclear reactors are expected to be replaced by a third generation from 2012. France has 58 nuclear reactors spread across 19 atomic power plants. No new large power plants have been built since 1993, despite increased electricity demand.

Meanwhile, in Britain there are no plans for any significant further electrification of the rail network, other than GNER’s plan to have the line from the Selby Diversion line to Leeds electrified as part of its new 10-year franchise agreement.

SOURCE RAILNEWS