
While Glasgow Central train station displayed HydroFLEX to the general public, the nearby COP26 summit focused on ending sales of road vehicles that run on fossil fuels. Have your say in the forums, get the latest guides, tutorials and discover the history behind the hobby in our daily articles.
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HydroFLEX, developed by Porterbrook and the University of Birmingham with the help of UK government funding, is a remodelled train that its designers claim can carry sufficient hydrogen to match the performance of a diesel engine. Join the Train Simulator community on Dovetail Live - the place to share your passion for all things Train Simulation.
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The COP26 event in Glasgow - attended by Britain's Prince Charles who is a committed environmental campaigner - showcased a hydrogen-powered train. At a total cost of 850,000, GB Railfreights training simulators are the UKs first and only full cab freight European Rail Traffic Management System. "Rail is already the lowest emission transport mode, but we can do even more," Nick Crossfield, Alstom's managing director UK and Ireland, said as the group this month unveiled its hydrogen project in collaboration with British trains owner Eversholt Rail. Train operators are taking the opportunity to transition also via hybrid models in much the same way as carmakers.Ĭhiltern Railways, which runs passenger services between London in southeast England and the country's Midlands, recently announced investment in a hybrid battery-diesel train, developed by rolling stock owner Porterbrook and Rolls-Royce, the maker of aircraft engines.Īs well as increasing electrification of its rail tracks, Britain is in the early stages of producing trains that can run on the renewable energy hydrogen.įrench train manufacturer Alstom has announced plans to deliver the UK's first-ever fleet of new hydrogen trains, as opposed to rolling stock that has been remodelled. Today, freight trains are longer, population densities are greater, train traffic is higher and service delivery takes precedence.

Last month saw the launch of a new fully-electric passenger train in the UK - Lumo's London-Edinburgh service carries no auxiliary diesel engine. "Of course, in the long term, we need to move to a decarbonised economy, so more use of electric traction is going to be a huge part of that," Simpson told AFP. Its director general, Maggie Simpson, highlighted a need for "more electric wires to support the investment in newer locomotives".īritain's rail freight is presently 90 percent hauled by diesel engines. While the RFG described the switch back to diesel as "regrettable", it insisted it was only temporary. With the current surge in electricity prices, some electric-run operators have recently been forced to revert to diesel locomotives, trade body Rail Freight Group (RFG) observed last month. That places the UK far behind European neighbours, such as the Netherlands, where 76 percent of the network is electrified. While electric trains emit 60 percent less carbon than their diesel counterparts, only 42 percent of the UK rail network is currently electrified, according to official data.

This would help "to meet the ambition of removing all diesel-only trains from the network by 2040", the Department for Transport said.
