Network Rail’s electric vehicle fleet in operation across the South of England hit a major landmark this month, with the vehicles reaching a total combined distance of one million miles since the rollout began.
The electric vehicle fleet has been used by different teams across Network rail’s Southern region, which connects London with Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and East Devon, since the first vehicle arrived in November 2022 and recently hit the collective one million mark of miles driven, helping play its part in reducing carbon emissions. This has reduced emissions by approximately 285 tonnes, equivalent to the electricity use of over 270 UK households.
The electric vehicle fleet is largely used by Maintenance and Project teams, and electric vans for Mobile Operations Managers, the railway’s first responders, are also being tested to understand their suitability.
As the railway celebrates its 200th birthday this year, Network Rail is committed to investing in technologies to reach Net Zero by 2050. This has included transitioning its standard road fleet towards electric vehicles. Currently, 10%of the Southern region fleet is now electric, with the aim to double this by April 2026.
Network Rail has also been working to reduce emissions when it comes to charging the vehicles and has introduced a Papilio3 unit, a charging hub with solar panels on the roof, to provide cleaner charging for the electric vehicle fleet based at the Basingstoke Rail Operating Centre.
The Papilio3 is made from a repurposed shipping container, and the solar panels can produce enough energy each year to drive an electric vehicle approximately 64,000 miles, more than twice around the world.
As part of our growing commitment to reducing our carbon emissions, Network Rail Southern has also:
- Carried out energy efficiency improvements at our stations and depots, including the removal of gas boilers, transition to LED lighting, and improved the technology in our station escalators.
- Reused washed ballast, used low-carbon concrete, and reused concrete sleepers for our track renewals programme.
- Installed solar panels at six of our maintenance depots across the Southern region.
- Manually segregated waste at our managed stations to increase recycling rates and the opportunities to reuse materials.
Dan Bannister, Special Projects Manager - Road Fleet & Decarbonisation, said: “Reaching one million zero emission miles is an exciting milestone - it represents a significant reduction in tailpipe emissions, reduced impact on air quality and demonstrates our commitment to a cleaner and greener future. We're committed to converting our standard fleet to zero-emission alternatives by 2030, and every electric vehicle takes us closer to that goal. As the railway marks its 200th anniversary, we’re laying the foundation to deliver low-carbon transport for the next 200 years.”
Sarah Borien, Network Rail’s Regional Head of Sustainable Growth, said: “As one of the greenest forms of mass transport, rail is a key mechanism for the delivery of net zero in the UK, but there is more we can do to keep our emissions as low as possible. The rollout of zero-emission vehicles is a key part of our decarbonisation plan, which is on track to deliver net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
Image and Video Credit: Network Rail
