Energy use falls

BOTH diesel and electricity consumption on the railway reduced in 2020 – perhaps unsurprisingly, as fewer trains were running during the Covid-19 pandemic – resulting in lower CO2 equivalent emissions according to the Office of Rail and Road.

Electricity used by passenger trains fell by 12% to 3.7 billion kilowatt hours (kWh). Diesel use by passenger trains fell to 354 million litres, resulting in a reduction in emissions of 26% on the previous year.

Electricity use by freight trains fell by 9% compared with 2019-20, from 70 million kWh to 64 million kWh.

This was the second lowest electricity figure for freight since the 58 million kWh in 2016-17. Freight diesel consumption fell by 11% to 153 million litres.