Porterbrook, South Western Railway and Eminox, an exhaust manufacturer, are working to trial ground-breaking, emissions-reducing, technology which could be rolled out to hundreds of diesel trains across the UK’s rail network.
The partnership between Porterbrook and Eminox aims to reduce diesel emissions by fitting a catalyst that could reduce NOx (nitrous oxide) emissions by over 80% and CO (carbon monoxide) and hydrocarbons by over 90% from current levels.
Porterbrook’s investment in Eminox’s technology is being supported by the Department for Transport through InnovateUK’s first-of-a-kind funding (FoaK2). The Foak2 funding will allow trial fitment of Eminox SCRT technology to a South Western Railway Class 159 DMU. Once the trial is completed this innovation is likely to be deployed on a number of existing fleets serving communities across Britain’s railway.
State-of-the-art telemetry will be fitted to the trial Class 159 to provide real-time diagnostics and performance data from the system. Rail-specific challenges, such as high exhaust temperature duty cycles, will be overcome as part of the project, utilising advanced catalyst technology in this first on-rail application.
“SWR has committed to a 56% reduction in traction carbon emissions by 2023/24 and it is hoped that this type of technology could help make a major contribution to achieving that target,” Neil Drury, Engineering Director for South Western Railway, said.
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