Latest Rail News

09.02.18

Eurostar commits to green power by 2030

Eurostar has this week confirmed its commitment to have complete replacements for fossil fuels within the next 12 years.

In the company’s ‘Tread Lightly 10-point plan,’ it set out a range of promises which it would be working towards, including completely replacing all vehicles with electrical alternatives by 2020.

The programme aims to reduce the carbon footprint of all Eurostar services through a range of measures surrounding the responsible use of energy, reducing waste and plastics, and using sustainable products.

By 2030, the company says it will have introduced “alternatives to fossil fuel energy” for all the trains it runs, as well as investing in banks of solar panels at its UK depot.

“Reducing our carbon footprint has always been a key priority for our company and we are determined to build on our achievements,” the Tread Lightly plan says.

“At the start of 2018 we committed to setting a bold new science-based target to further increase the energy efficiency of our business.

“In accordance with the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement and the Science-Based Target Initiative we are committing to a significant reduction in our corporate emissions, supporting the drive to limit global warming to below two degrees Celsius and creating a low carbon future.”

In addition to changing the way it produces energy, Eurostar has committed to a 5% reduction in train energy and energy meters on board each train by 2020.

The company has recently undergone a change at the top, with former CEO Nicolas Petrovic leaving his position to be replaced by ex-Yodel boss Mike Cooper.

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Comments

David   09/02/2018 at 18:33

By "all-electric vehicles" I would assume they are referring to their road fleet. Don't think that was explained well!

Jimbo   09/02/2018 at 21:09

Very odd article as Eurostar trains are already electric. When in France, they will be using nuclear-generated electricity, but in the UK, it will be whatever the grid supplies. So presumably the article is talking about road vehicles or shunting engines (if they have any), and so the targets hardly look challenging. Road vehicles will be leased, so it won't be difficult to change those within a few years.

David   09/02/2018 at 22:55

Jimbo, Network Rail has a long-term contract with EDF for their electricity supply, which likewise will also consist of nuclear-generated power.

Andrew Gwilt   11/02/2018 at 12:43

Sounds very good. Eurostar’s E300 Class 373 & E320 Class 374 fleets to become eco-nomical and energy efficient.

100Andthirty   11/02/2018 at 15:15

Who owns/runs those ancient diesel locos that are used for rescue - Eurostar or Eurotunnel. If the latter, then only the road vehicles to deal with which shouldn't be too hard.

David   11/02/2018 at 17:23

Well at least you are referring to one sentence within the article, Andrew. 100Andthirty, they're owned by Eurotunnel and were built from 1991-92. So definitely not ancient, but they need to remain self-powered for obvious reasons.

Andrew Gwilt   12/02/2018 at 00:27

Thanks David.

Jimbo   12/02/2018 at 14:10

If you read the actual press release from Eurostar - https://mediacentre.eurostar.com/mc_view?language=uk-en&article_Id=ka30N000000kDkKQAU - you will find that their 10 point plan is mostly about recycling and reducing the amount of rubbish they generate. There is 1 point about replacing diesel road vehicles (eg. HGV's) and another about reducing power usage on trains by 5% through better driving, but most of the rest are all about recycling. Looks like RTM has been selective in their reporting, because most of what is proposed is that same as any other business is doing these days.

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