Working with Novuna Vehicle Solutions, Network Rail has installed its first dedicated EV charging facilities at Swindon and Bristol depots.

The electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities installed at Network Rail’s Swindon and Bristol depots will support a trial on a fleet of fully electric vans which will be utilised throughout the rail network with support from Novuna Vehicle Solutions.

Once the charging infrastructure installation is finalised, it will support the trial of 25 electric small vans which will be added to Network Rail’s current EV fleet. The project comes as part of Network Rail’s ‘Project Zero’ plan,twit which will see its entire road fleet electrified in order to achieve the Department for Transport decarbonisation target by 2027.

Six charging points will be installed at Network Rail’s Swindon depot and three at the Bristol depot. The charging points will provide 22kW 3 phase AC chargers with the ability to fully charge electric small vans in less than eight hours overnight. The small electric vans will support the essential service operations of Network Rail and will provide 24/7 mobilisation for engineers, allowing them to carry out on-site maintenance and repairs at locations throughout the rail network.

The installation of EV charging at Network Rail’s Swindon and Bristol depots is being overseen by Novuna Vehicle Solutions and will see further installation carried out at sites in Cardiff, Derby, Doncaster, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sandwell & Dudley and Shrewsbury.

The vehicle solutions company will aid Network Rail’s end to end decarbonisation plans by assessing fleet challenges and creating specific transition plans, providing vehicle leasing, EV charging infrastructure and back-office management which will create remote diagnostics and the provision of ongoing maintenance all of which will support the full adoption of EV’s.

Before delivering the charging infrastructure needed by Network Rail, Novuna Vehicle Solutions undertook an exhaustive depot feasibility assessment which saw the evaluation of the electricity demand and usage across all of the proposed sites in order to ascertain if installation is viable. Triage reporting also revealed the amount of EV chargers that could be installed within headroom and where smart charging which utilises software to balance the load would be necessary.

Competitive vehicle leasing was also provided by Novuna vehicle Solution to supply the fully electric small vans which will be used throughout Network Rail’s multi-site depots. Total cost ownership modelling was also used to determine the viability of the proposed EV transition and to identify the cost as well as the environmental benefits for Network Rail.

The project will see the install of 24 sockets, over nine sites and will be completed over a period of two years. At the same time as this work, the current £136m fleet management contract with Network Rail which has seen Novuna Vehicle Solutions oversee the management of the organisation’s entire owned and leased road fleet, as well as finding and supplying more than 3,000 lease vehicles since 2019.

Jon Lawes, Managing Director, Novuna Vehicle Solutions, commented:

“Delivering workplace and depot charging solutions is a fundamental component of our decarbonisation strategy for fleets who are increasingly seeking on-site charging to future proof their business operations.

“Despite the complexity of providing charging across multiple depot sites with the associated challenges of understanding the available electricity headroom at each site to overcome, the plan in progress to deliver charging infrastructure across multiple depot locations is already delivering cost and environmental benefits which support Network Rail’s journey towards a complete fleet electrification.

“By working together to provide Network Rail with an end-to-end decarbonisation solution, we’re helping them to achieve their fleet electrification targets whilst building on our established relationship which has already seen Novuna Vehicle Solutions become a trusted total assets solutions mobility partner.”

Willie Crawford, Head of Road Fleet, Network Rail, added:

“Project Zero is a significant undertaking for Network Rail, as we progress further on our electrification journey. Installation of charging points at our Swindon and Bristol depots supported by a fleet of fully electric vans with further installations to follow at a number of additional sites significantly enhances our mobility capability to service the rail network through our ever-expanding zero-emission fleet.

“Building on our established working partnership which has seen the delivery of an efficient and cost-effective ‘one-stop shop’ solution provided by Novuna Vehicle Solutions for several years, these designated depot transformations are addressing our business requirements as we make the transition towards a fully EV fleet over the next five years. Driving improved cost and environmental efficiencies across Network Rail through Project Zero is fundamental as we continue on our journey towards becoming a truly sustainable railway.”