Plans to develop a hydrogen-powered Class 321 unit with Alstom form just one part of Eversholt Rail’s plans to decarbonise the rail industry, the company’s Head of External Relations Tim Burleigh told the Golden Spanners conference.
Mr Burleigh noted the corporate experience and engineering skills among the three original rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs), and that each has responded in different ways dependent on the composition of its fleet; for Eversholt Rail, 3,100 of its 3,500 vehicles are electric. Decarbonisation is therefore not just about modifying diesel trains, and Eversholt Rail sees continuous improvement to its fleets as part of the day job.
Mr Burleigh also noted efficiency improvements are not a new concept and are not solely a response to the challenge from Government early in 2018 to remove all diesel-only trains by 2040. He highlighted projects such as the re-tractioning of Class 321 and Class 465 EMUs as offering efficiency improvements, along with programmes to improve Eversholt Rail’s Class 185 and Class 222 diesel fleets. The key here is that there is no single solution across a broad portfolio of rolling stock.
While Eversholt Rail has a largely electric fleet, there hav…
