FirstGroup’s electric rail operator Lumo has published data on operational carbon emissions which illustrates the environmental benefit of traveling by electric train rather than flying.

Lumo runs trains between London and Edinburgh, and as a train company, has set out to convert people who usually make that journey by aeroplane to use rail instead.

To mark the second anniversary of its branding as ‘Lumo’, the operator commissioned consultancy firm Arup to provide an independent report about all direct emissions from its operations; emissions from the grid-supplied energy it uses; and other emissions in its supply chain.

• Scope 1: Direct emissions from operations that are owned and controlled by Lumo;
• Scope 2: Emissions from the use of grid-supplied electricity, heat, steam and/or cooling by Lumo;
• Scope 3: All other emissions that occur in the value chain of Lumo.

In the last two years, Lumo has carried over two million passengers. The figures reveal that, per passenger, emissions from a London-to-Edinburgh journey are twenty-two times the level for flying (149 kgCO2e) than for using Lumo (6.8kgCO2e).

Measured in terms of carbon saved, a return trip from Edinburgh to London on Lumo saves the equivalent of up to eleven trees worth of annual carbon when compared to flying. The Arup report also suggests that if 15% of passengers who flew from London to Edinburgh had travelled by Lumo instead, the carbon savings would be equivalent to those passengers offsetting their carbon impact with a million trees or 3,650 hectares of forested land – or planting an area the size of Blackpool with trees (assuming a single tree sequesters approximately 25kg CO2 per year on average).

Lumo launched in October 2021 and since then has run more than six thousand services carrying two million passengers. Its hopes that what it describes as “affordable” ticket prices will encourage people to use its 100% electric trains, with an average ticket costing less than £40.

Over the last twelve months, 56% of journeys between Edinburgh or Newcastle and London were made by rail.

Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director of Lumo, said: “Lumo was launched with a promise of affordable, green travel between Edinburgh, Newcastle and London. Our new carbon emissions data proves the environmental benefits of choosing our 100% electric trains. A single passenger would need to travel with us 22 times before breaking even on the carbon emissions from a single flight on the same route. Given we carry up to 4,000 passengers a day, that gives you some idea of the scale of the carbon savings we are delivering.

“Rail has a critical role to play in decarbonising our transport network. The time has come to look at ways to further incentivise rail travel over flying – otherwise we will all feel the environmental cost. There are affordable and convenient alternatives to flying between Edinburgh, Newcastle and London and we hope to encourage many more to passengers to choose Lumo in future.”