Pollution found on trains a lot worse than on London’s roads

OLLUTION on some new UK trains is 13 times one of London’s busiest roads, a new report shows.

The worst NO2 pollution was found on GWR bi-mode trains, used between London and Bristol which were just two years old.

Nitrogen dioxide levels far exceed average recorded on trafficclogged Marylebone Road, according to a study. The Hitachi built trains have a “controversial design” that twins diesel and electric power.

The trains were also pulled out of service after cracks were discovered in the carriages.

Passengers travelling onboard a GWR Great Western Railway carriage running from London to Bristol, procured by the government as part of a £5.7 billion scheme, were subject to huge spikes in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution when switched to diesel from electric. (NO2) levels on the two-year-old bi-mode Hitachi trains peaked at 13 times the average recorded on traffic-clogged Marylebone Road in central London according to a study by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB).

The Department for Transport (DFT) said ministers had commissioned more research after the “concerning findings” as well as immediate review of the air quality standards and regulations for trains.

GWR trains run on electric from London to until Cardiff, but services further west and south-west run on diesel. Planned electrification of part of the line into South Wales as far as Swansea, as well as the line from Langley Burrell near Chippenham, Military Siddings, Corsham, Box Tunnel, Bathampton, Bath Spa, Saltford, Keynsham, Saint Anne’s Park and Bristol Temple Meads was scrapped by the then transport secretary Chris Grayling in 2017 after the huge budget over-runs. But Blackpool North on the West Coast mainline with a branch line from Preston, got the nod for electrification, and we were shunted into the sidings.

The worst NO2 pollution was found on GWR bi-mode Hitachi trains, which were just two years old.

Pollution increases significantly when trains are in tunnels or idling in stations, the RSSB said. Passengers on trains pulled by diesel locomotives are more exposed to fumes when sitting in rear rather than front carriages, the researchers found, possibly due to how the exhaust is drawn into the train windows or air conditioning system.

Having worked with civil engineering on-track railway maintenance machines, that were built and supplied as all dancing & all singing multi-purpose multi-tasking machines, that were basically not fit for purpose. I had real reservations about the bi-mode Hitachi electric/diesel trains, and I still think they are not up for the job.