Our joint venture with Virgin Group has attracted new passengers to rail travel as a result of its ‘Go Greener, Go Cheaper’ marketing campaign, which is part of a consistent push to take on domestic airlines on speed, price, frequency and environmental credentials.

VRG is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and is working in partnership with the Carbon Trust on its five-step carbon management programme. The programme aims to reduce the CO2 emissions produced as a consequence of all aspects of VRG’s operations from traction power to domestic energy use.

VRG continues to look at all of its day-to-day operations and is committed to find ways to reduce the amount of energy and water used on board its trains, at stations and in offices. There is also a commitment to reduce waste and increase recycling across all its activities. The company has installed multifunctional print devices in its offices to save paper and energy, and is now considering going further with research into PDAs for drivers and other on board staff.

Around 20% of the electricity used at Virgin Rail Group’s stations is purchased from renewable sources and VRG has joined the Envirowise “Big Splash” campaign to reduce water consumption at its stations. Envirowise is also working with VRG’s property and procurement specialists to advise as to how utilities consumption can be further reduced.