London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has been working throughout the past 12 months to reduce its carbon footprint and make travelling by train even more environmentally friendly for its customers.
Through the introduction of its fleet of bi-mode Azuma trains in 2019 and the phasing out of the diesel High Speed Train (HST) fleet, LNER saved nine million litres of diesel in 2019/20 compared to the previous year.
As part of its Responsible Business Strategy, LNER has worked across its estates and infrastructure over the past year to make marked improvements which help to reduce its carbon footprint.Water refill points at stations and across the route are helping reduce single use plastic bottles, whilst this year has seen the introduction of coffee cup disposal points at many of LNER’s managed stations.
This makes it easier for customers to recycle some of the 2.5 billion single use cups that are thrown away in the UK each year. Reducing the need for paper tickets, customers now have the opportunity to utilise reusable plastic season tickets or use e-tickets through a new LNER app which launched recently.
Various energy projects have been completed and are underway, including new LED lights at Doncaster Station and York Travel Centre, with solar panels set to be installed at Darlington Station to deliver an estimated 88 tonnes carbon reduction per year and serving 25% of Darlington Station’s energy demand.
In addition, by the end of 2021, 230 electric vehicle (EV) charging points will be rolled out across managed stations on the route.
Warrick Dent, Director of Safety and Operations at LNER, said: “More than ever before, people are focused on the impact they are having on the world around them. Our Responsible Business approach is called ‘Love the Journey’ and this supports our business-wide vision to be the most loved, progressive and responsible way to travel for generations to come.
“We have engaged with our people, communities and local organisations to understand what matters to them and identify what is material to our business, ensuring we add value to the business as well as acting with responsibility for our impact on each other, our communities and environment.
“As a business we don’t dispose of any waste to landfill.Our bi-mode fleet, which only uses diesel traction where there are no overhead wires, has already delivered a significant improvement for the environment. Further electrification of the route would help us to save even more diesel and help to achieve government net zero targets.
“We want to continue working with industry partners on our route to deliver a greener future. This includes working with Network Rail on any plans for further electrification.”
Photo credit: LNER – Azuma on route
