Network Rail and ScotRail, under the Scotland’s Railway partnership, have published a five-year Climate Action Plan for 2024-2029.
The new plan aims to serve Scotland with a more resilient and responsible railway. To do so, it sets out five priority areas:
- Climate Ready
- Net Zero
- Environmental Management
- Biodiversity
- Social Value
The plan targets a 65% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2039. This includes a focus on its road fleet, heating buildings and energy purchases.
In addition, it plans to increase biodiversity on railway land by 4%. To achieve this target, five hundred hectares of land within and outwith the railway boundary will be enhanced through strategic partnerships.
“We’re feeling the impact and the need to adapt to climate change more than ever on Scotland’s Railway. Extreme weather is impacting passengers, freight customers and communities more frequently than ever.
“We’ve developed this plan for the next five years, aiming to serve Scotland - now and in the future - with a greener, more resilient and responsible railway.
“Everyone in Scotland’s Railway and beyond needs to take action and together I’m confident we can make a difference, while making this the greenest railway Scotland’s ever had.”
Climate change already impacts railway operations, with disruptions caused by heavy rainfall and record-breaking hot days.
To address these challenegs, the Climate Action Plan incorporates climate adaptation objectives. More than 400 million GBP will be invested in making the network more resilient against extreme weather and future changes in climate.
This includes more than 100 million GBP on earthworks, 100 million GBP on lineside infrastructure including drainage, and more than 40 million GBP on structures like bridges and tunnels.
Specific climate adaptation plans will be developed for route sections and locations that are most susceptible to the impacts of future changes.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s Railway will continue to improve air quality at stations, tunnels, maintenance depots and worksites. It will also reduce waste and its associated carbon through reusing and recycling more materials.
Over the next five years, Scotland’s Railway also aims to increase the number of its people using volunteering leave to engage with communities and charity partners.
These plans align with the Scottish Government’s target of net zero emissions by 2045.
“Our vision is to deliver a safe, sustainable, inclusive, and accessible railway for Scotland.
“Taking climate action is one of our priorities and we’re making great progress through the decarbonisation of the network, identifying ways to eliminate fossil fuel use, increasing energy efficiency, and deploying renewable energy sources in our buildings.”
The full plan can be viewed here.
