Birmingham New Street station is to host a trial of new devices, to investigate how much they improve air quality for passengers on platforms.

Network Rail will install two upright ‘totems’ before the end of 2023. They will filter pollutants and viruses by taking in air at the bottom and passing it through a series of filters, and release clean air at head height.

The trial will take place on platforms 10 and 11, where Network Rail hopes that it will make platforms more pleasant for passengers by reducing the impact of train exhaust fumes and other pollutants. If it does so, then the devices will be installed on other platforms at the station.

A recent trial of similar units, made by Pluvo, saw promising improvements on a busy street in London, with reductions of up to 67% in particulate matter and 22% in nitrous oxides.

The central sections of the units will include large visual displays showing passengers how they work, and telling people of other measures that Network Rail is taking to provide a cleaner and greener railway.

Birmingham New Street already uses modern technology to optimise its ventilation system to remove diesel pollutants.

More than a hundred sensors and ninety-eight jet fans have been upgraded since 2018 in a million-pound investment which has cut nitrous oxide by up to 45%.

The enhancements are widely seen as best practice in tackling and monitoring diesel engine exhaust emissions (DEEE).

They use an array of fixed CO2, NO and NO2 monitors which are linked to the fans which have eight speed functions that adjust depending upon concentration of the gases.

The system is monitored centrally via the Building Management System (BMS), and gives an alarm indication when gases exceed target levels.

Network Rail is required by law to comply with the Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) as defined under COSHH (The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002) (as amended) as far as reasonably practicable when trains are in its stations.

The 2008 Ambient Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC) sets legally-binding limits and targets for concentrations of major air pollutants.

However, it applies to outdoor ambient air and not to enclosed stations such as Birmingham New Street.

The limits that the station is governed by are:

• long-term nitrogen dioxide (NO2) Limit: 8-hour long-term Exposure Limit (LTEL) 0.5 ppm (955 μg/m3)
• nitric oxide (NO): 8-hour LTEL 2.0 ppm (2,500 μg/m3)
• short term NO2: 15 minute STEL 1.0 ppm (1,910 μg/m3)

COSHH requires that Diesel Exhaust Emissions are controlled at source by local exhaust ventilation and general ventilation.

Patrick Power, Network Rail Central route head of stations, said: “We want Birmingham New Street to be a pleasant environment for passengers and we’ve invested millions of pounds over the years to try to improve the air quality.

“As one of the busiest stations in the country, with diesel and electric trains coming or going every 37 seconds on average, we know the air quality at platform level could be better. These new units show real promise to tackle that and if successful we’d look to roll them out right across the station in future.”

Matteo Maccario, CEO and founder of Pluvo, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Network Rail to test and bring our clean air solutions to the railway environment. At Pluvo our mission is to create clean air spaces for people to live, work and play in. We believe this partnership with a global rail leader such as Network Rail will aid us in that mission.

“Birmingham New Street, with its unique air quality challenges, is an ideal trial location for our Pluvo Column solution. Network Rail’s managed stations have huge passenger footfall in the largest cities in the UK and we hope to help them create healthier and cleaner spaces, thus improving the overall passenger experience.”