Work has started on the installation 932 solar panels on the roof of Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR) train depot at Bedford, which is the base for Thameslink’s Class 700 trains and provides maintenance and stabling facilities for East Midlands Railway Class 360 trains.

The solar panels will generate 322 MWh of electricity a year, which is enough to power 120 homes and will save over 66 tonnes of CO2e. The panels are part of the company’s commitment to become carbon ‘net zero’ for all its energy needs by 2050, and any money raised from selling surplus electricity will go towards community projects.

Not-for-profit community climate action group Energy Garden is installing the solar roof, which is one of four in service or planned at other Govia Thameslink Railway depots at Streatham Hill in south London, Selhurst in Croydon, and Three Bridges in Sussex.

Bedford’s solar roof is scheduled to be complete by the new year, and when it comes online Energy Garden will sell half the solar electricity to GTR to power the Bedford depot, with the remaining profits going to fund community development projects.

Jason Brooker, Head of Environment at GTR, said: “We’re in the middle of a climate crisis and everyone has a job to do to minimise their carbon footprint.

“Our electric trains are already the most sustainable way to get around on public transport but as the UK’s largest operator, we want our customers to know that we’re committed to doing even more.

“This new solar roof at Bedford Cauldwell Walk Depot, along with a raft of other initiatives, will cut our carbon footprint still further in the short to medium term and in the long term help eradicate it altogether.

“And it’s fabulous that it’s also going to help community projects.”

Agamemnon Otero, Founder and CEO of Energy Garden, said: “The partnership between GTR and Energy Garden has changed the UK railway for ever. Transport is the biggest single growing emissions sector in the UK. Energy Garden is a movement of people power who are supporting the decarbonisation of the rail.”

Govia Thameslink Railway’s Net Zero Strategy for eradicating its carbon footprint is to:

• work with Network Rail and the government to replace diesel trains with electrification or introduce battery-powered units;
• use air or ground source heat pumps for heating at train depots instead of gas;
• generate energy from solar panels on the roofs of railway stations and depots in Bedford, London, and Sussex;
• change air conditioning systems so that the damaging impact resulting from the loss of refrigerant into the atmosphere is minimised;
• replace fossil fuel equipment with zero carbon systems when it needs replacement;
• provide electricity for its offices, depots, and stations from renewable sources.