Rail passengers with electric vehicles will be able to charge while they travel thanks to the introduction of 450 new electric vehicle charging points at Network Rail-managed car parks at railway stations.

The charging points, powered by guaranteed renewable energy, provide enough power to fully charge a vehicle in as little as 3-4 hours. 

In this phase, Network Rail has powered: 160 charging points in Reading, 111 in Manchester, 84 in Edinburgh, 56 at Leeds and 41 in Welwyn Garden City.

Electric vehicle charging points will be installed across 10% of car parking spaces (approximately 779 spaces) at car parks managed by Network Rail by March 2024.

Rail is already the leading form of green public transport and this marks another milestone in Network Rail’s commitment to a low-emission railway – making sure rail is environmentally-friendly, resilient to climate change and able to provide an excellent service for years to come.

The new Compleo charging points are marked with green parking bays and passengers can pay for what they need quickly and easily via the APCOA Connect app.

Jo Lewington, Network Rail’s Chief Environment & Sustainability Officer, said: “As part of our wider Environmental Sustainability Strategy, we’re working towards delivering a low-emission railway and aiming to reach net-zero emissions by 2045 in Scotland and by 2050 in the rest of Britain.

“Supporting the move to electric vehicles is a key part of that. We hope that by providing affordable, efficient and reliable charging points we can encourage more electric vehicles onto the road and help promote healthier air in and around our stations.”

Mark Tarry, Network Rail’s Supply Chain Operations Director, said: “The Decarbonisation Programme Team continues to deliver Network Rail’s decarbonisation ambitions. The team are making a real difference putting passengers first and supporting the country’s net zero ambitions”.a

Kim Challis, APCOA’s Regional Managing Director for UK&I said: “We’re really pleased to have developed this solution in conjunction with Compleo to enable charging authentication and easy payment for Network Rail’s EV customers. This solution also provides a significant step towards our sustainability strategy.”