Passengers can charge their electric vehicles whilst they travel thanks to the new charging points at Edinburgh Waverley station.
The electric vehicle charging points use a guaranteed renewable energy source and offer enough power to provide a full charge for a vehicle in just three to four hours.
Waverley station is Scotland's second busiest station and serves passengers travelling to and from London whilst providing connectivity for people throughout Scotland and England via the East Coast Main Line.
The new charging points mark the latest addition to services for passengers, supporting their journeys from this key station.
Network Rail has seen the installation of 84 new charging points for Edinburgh during this stage of the project which has also seen 160 charging points installed in Reading, 111 in Manchester, 56 in Leeds and 41 in Welwyn Garden City. The project will eventually see electric vehicle charging points put in place at over 10% of car parking spaces at Network Rail managed car parks which equates to 779 spaces. The project is set to complete in March 2024
Travelling by rail is already the leading form of green public transport and this project adds further to Network Rail's commitment to creating a low-emission railway, ensuring that rail travel is environmentally friendly and hardy to climate change whilst providing fantastic service for customers into the future.
The new charging points are coloured with green parking bays and passengers can pay for what they need quickly and easily using the APCOA Connect app.
Jo Lewington, Network Rail's Chief Environment & Sustainability Officer, said:
“As part of our wider Environmental Sustainability Strategy, we're working towards delivering a low-emission railway and aiming to reach net-zero emissions by 2045 in Scotland and by 2050 in the rest of Britain.
“Supporting the move to electric vehicles is a key part of that. We hope that by providing affordable, efficient and reliable charging points we can encourage more electric vehicles onto the road and help promote healthier air in and around our stations.”
Mark Tarry, Network Rail's Supply Chain Operations Director, said:
“The Decarbonisation Programme Team continues to deliver Network Rail's decarbonisation ambitions. The team is making a real difference putting passengers first and supporting the country's net-zero ambitions.”
Kim Challis, APCOA's Regional Managing Director for UK&I said:
“We're really pleased to have developed this solution in conjunction with Compleo to enable charging authentication and easy payment for Network Rail's EV customers. This solution also provides a significant step towards our sustainability strategy.”
