East Midlands Railway Class 170 trains to get new emissions technology

Porterbrook has announced that it has received funding for the trial fitment of technology to reduce emissions on its fleet of Class 170 DMU trains.

The £400,000 funding will see the Class 170 ‘Turbostar’ trains, which are in operation with East Midlands Railway, fitted with Eminox SCRT technology.

The aim of the trial is to evaluate whether the technology can deliver reduced CO, hydrocarbons and NOx emissions making them more environmentally friendly and offer improved air quality for passengers, staff and communities served by East Midlands Railway.

Porterbrooks instalment of the technology is supported by the Department for Transport through a £400,000 grant via the Innovate UK’s first-of-a-kind funding.

The EMR trial builds on the recent trial of Eminox catalytic-converter technology on South Western Railway Class 159 DMUs.

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “The success of this trial in reducing harmful emissions underlines the importance of the First of a Kind competition, which funds pioneering projects to support better, more environmentally friendly rail journeys.

Rail industry responds to RMT’s “overwhelming” support for action against Network Rail and 15 rail operators

25th May 2022

One of Greater Anglia's new Alstom trains

“Reducing the railway’s environmental impact and supporting decarbonisation is a priority for this Government. Harnessing innovation like this will be crucial in making our railways greener and cleaner in the future.”

Mary Grant, CEO of Porterbrook, said: “As a rolling stock asset management business, Porterbrook takes seriously its responsibility to develop innovative ways of reducing emissions. We are particularly pleased to be able to do this by drawing on proven technologies.

“Porterbrook believes by partnering with our customer East Midlands Railway and after-treatment specialists, Eminox, we can accelerate the delivery of cleaner and more environmentally friendly trains to Britain’s railways.”

Neil Bamford, Fleet Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “We are pleased to be working with Porterbrook on this exciting new trial. If successful, it could enable our fleet of 170s to run in a more environmentally friendly way and provide benefits to our passengers, staff and the communities we serve.”

It is expected that the technology will be installed on EMR 170s in early 2021, with the trial taking place over three months.

The technology is likely to be installed on other Class 170s around Britain, including those with Northern and ScotRail, once the trial is finished.

Porterbrook is working with Eminox, Bosch Rexroth and DG8 to install and monitor the technology.

Where Next?

RailAdvent Plus
   Get image downloads, Prints and Streaming Video
News Homepage
   For the Latest Railway News
RailAdvent Online Shop
   Framed Prints, DVD’s / Blu-Ray’s and more
LocoStop Community
   Come and share your railway pictures
Mainline Steam Info
   Upcoming mainline steam tours/loco movements
Porterbrook
   Visit their website