ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
includes longer franchises, new fuel sources and maximising capacity, Vogt said.
“If you look at the proportion of emissions that rail contributes to the UK, as a whole, it’s very small. When compared to the car for example trains enjoy significantly better statistics in terms of emissions. There is no doubt that trains are a hugely efficient means of transporting people, particularly if you can optimise the number of passengers travelling.”
Finally, when asked about rail’s reliance on diesel, Vogt said:
“Ultimately the rail industry will need to address the question of fuel source and move away from its reliance on diesel. Rather than environmental factors, it may, admittedly, be other factors such as availability and cost that drives the industry to other fuel sources, such as electricity.”
Terri Vogt FOR MORE INFORMATION
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“The biggest pressure on the industry at the moment is to reduce cost and inefficiency. In many ways the two areas are inextricably linked – improving efficiency and sustainability invariably leads to cost savings. And given fuel is one of the industry’s biggest costs, it makes good business sense to use it as efficiently as is possible. I think for the industry in general, and certainly at FirstGroup, reducing cost and increasing efficiency is treated as one and the same.”
Financial barriers mean that some of what could or should be implemented is not always practical. “We’d like to do more as an industry. But as is the case in any sector there are barriers –
technology, people, resources and finance are not always as readily available as we would wish.”
A sustainable future
She added: “Overall as these things develop and evolve they will increasingly demonstrate cost savings. That will help attract the investment needed to further progress and improve.
“Going forward much of our success in terms of sustainability in the rail industry is about sharing best practice and learning. We want to make sure people in the industry can learn from each other.”
The future for sustainability rail technology magazine Jun/Jul 12 | 31
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