Dutch Passenger Trains are Now Using 100% Wind Power

Before I say anything else on this matter, if you want to see the CEO of NS (Dutch Railways) Roger van Boxtel be strapped to a windmill and do a full rotation, this video is for you.Roger that (sorry)!

Passengers travelling on Dutch trains using 100% wind power

Roel Hemkes under licence

I’ve always held the view that the railways must play a vital role in the transport of passengers and freight in a world confronted by climate change and many trains have made the move away from diesel to electrification. That being said, this technology is only as green as the electricity it uses. Electricity generated from renewables sources is green, electricity from coal not so much.

The video below is in Dutch (a fun language to listen to in my opinion) so let me tell you what he says and give you some context on this story.

Roger van Boxtel tells us that NS uses a lot of power and that’s bad for the environment. That’s something the company wanted to change. And so, from 1 January 2017, passengers in the Netherlands will travel on trains using 100% wind power, adding “and surely the Dutch can cope well with wind”! The power generated from one hour’s rotation of a windmill will take us from Utrecht to Groningen, he informs us.

“Travel on the wind!”

Dutch rail passengers on electrified services will be the first in the world to be able to travel by 100% wind power.
This is thanks to a partnership between NS and other rail carriers with sustainable energy supplier Eneco, based in Rotterdam. Of the 34 energy suppliers in the Netherlands, Eneco came 8th in the sustainability ranking conducted by Greenpeace, the Dutch Consumers’ Organisation, WISE and the Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment.

Now, we here at Railway-News think that’s pretty good news. Good for people, good for the planet and good for business.