South Western Railway has installed 60 new electric car charging points at six station car parks on its network.

The charging points cost a total of £100,000 and Basingstoke MP Maria Miller welcomed the investment by SWR.

The charging points help make rail travel more sustainable, and passengers can charge their electric vehicles free of charge between now and the end of October, just having to pay the cark park fee.

As well as Basingstoke, the charging points are also installed at five other stations – Farnborough, Andover, Haslemere, Wokingham and Fleet.

SWR worked with mechanical and electrical engineering specialists, SSE Enterprise Rail, to install Rolec EV WallPod charging units at each station.

The electric car charging points are 13-amp trickle chargers, allowing passengers to leave their vehicles on charge for the day.

The new charging points can be upgraded for higher currents to cover future developments.

What did the officials say?

The Rt. Hon. Maria Miller, Member of Parliament for Basingstoke, said:
“I’m delighted to welcome the opening of South West Railway’s new electric vehicle charging points at Basingstoke station. The points are accessible and the bays very spacious, and it’s also welcoming to see the free charging initiative for passengers.

“We all need to take responsibility for protecting and improving our air quality, and these new charging points can help play a part in encouraging more sustainable travel in Basingstoke.”

Jenny Keen, Flagship Station Manager at Basingstoke Station, said:

“We’re passionate about sustainability, and by investing in practical projects like station charging points and offering free charging, we can encourage more passengers to make environmentally friendly choices that could help improve local air quality.

“Over the course of the franchise, we aim to roll out more green initiatives, including reducing our energy usage and improving how we manage our waste, to ensure we become significantly greener by 2024.”

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