To mark Transport Day at COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, a group of schoolchildren from Glasgow will join Network Rail engineers and the authors of best-selling children's books for a journey on Porterbrook's hybrid train, the HydroFLEX.
During the journey, M.G. (Maya) Leonard and Sam Sedgman, the authors of the best-selling Adventures on Trains books, along with engineers from Network Rail and Porterbrook, will explain to the children the secrets of storytelling and how technology is powering rail's green revolution in Britain.
The children took part in a recent competition, organised by ScotRail, which asked children from primary schools in Scotland to find creative ways to encourage people to live greener and to encourage people to travel by train.
Maya and Sam's fifth book, titled Sabotage on the Solar Express, will be released in February next year and features a train of the future powered by solar panels and hydrogen fuel cells. Just like the train in the book, Porterbrook's HydroFLEX is a hybrid train, one that can be powered by hydrogen fuel cells or from overhead electric wires.
During their journey on the HydroFLEX, the children will have a reading of the author's latest book, Danger at Dead Man's Pass, and take part in an imaginative activity that gets them thinking about the joys of train travel and how we can make trains greener in the future. Engineers from Network Rail and Porterbrook will also discuss ideas for the future of green train technology with the children.
M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman, the authors of Adventures on Trains, said “We're delighted to have been able to play a part in COP26 by bringing our books onto the HydroFLEX train with the children. Trains are already the greenest form of public transport and the kids really understand that the key to a greener future is getting people out of cars and onto trains – and finding innovative new ways to make trains even greener. We hope that our books and this trip will really unlock their imaginations and perhaps even inspire some green rail engineers of the future!”
Martin Frobisher OBE, safety and engineering director for Network Rail, said “It's a privilege to welcome Maya and Sam on board the HydroFLEX, along with the children who took part in the competition who have really blown us away with their enthusiasm for getting people out of cars and on to trains. Rail is a proven green technology and stands ready to help governments reach their ambitious net-zero goals. With further electrification and alternative fuels, we can make rail even greener than it already is.”
“COP26 and these wonderful books are a great opportunity to really engage with the next generation and promote our commitment to running an even cleaner, greener railway that will help tackle climate change.”
Mary Grant, Chief Executive of Porterbrook, said “We're so pleased to welcome Maya, Sam, and the children aboard our HydroFLEX. This train is the first of its kind, just like the Solar Express in Maya and Sam's book. We're privileged to play our part in showing pupils that dreaming big and using your imagination is absolutely essential to delivering today's railway!”
Last year, Network Rail became the first railway company in the world to commit to the most stretching science-based targets for reducing carbon. A key part of the strategy for achieving those targets is decarbonising traction energy through further overhead line electrification and using alternative fuels, including hydrogen and battery-powered trains.
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