Carbon free rail services on the way to the UK
February 13, 2012
DB Schenker Rail UK has outlined plans to introduce carbon-free rail freight services for customers using trains hauled by electric locomotives.
The operator is proposing to build three wind turbines on its land at Margam, near Port Talbot in South Wales, to provide renewable energy to the rail network.
The energy generated by the turbines would be enough to power a “green fleet” of DB Schenker Rail UK’s Class 92 electric locomotives.
The electricity would be sold to infrastructure operator Network Rail for use in overhead power cables, meaning carbon-free rail freight services in the UK by the end of the year.
Alain Thauvette, Chief Executive of DB Schenker Rail UK, said: “Deutsche Bahn wishes to reduce its carbon emissions by 20% by 2020. This proposal is a significant step forward in delivering this carbon reduction target in the UK, while enabling DB Schenker Rail to provide its customers with eco solutions to reduce their carbon emissions.”
Thauvette added that he hoped the local authority and the Welsh Assembly Government would support the development, which would see carbon-free freight trains operating to Wales when routes were electrified.
Schenker’s carbon-free freight trains would operate from London to Scotland on the West and East Coast Main Lines and eventually to Wales on the Great Western Railway.
Planning approval for the scheme will be sought during the spring, said the operator.
Courtesy of IFW
