Environmental impacts – Energy and utilities
Cutting down on consumption
In 2006, we worked hard to identify ways of reducing our energy consumption at our offices and other premises as well as on the railway. Tube Lines is responsible for energy and utilities use and the resulting payments for our premises, 15 Westferry Circus in Canary Wharf and Trackside House and the Skills Training Centre in Stratford. Although we have responsibility for the maintenance of the fleets we are not responsible for paying the utility bills at depots and do not therefore benefit from the traditional incentive for energy efficiency.
However in this report we provide utility consumption figures for our own premises along with the Jubilee and Piccadilly line depots to give a fuller picture of the energy and utility use related to our work.*
Despite reduced incentives to lower utility consumption we are focused on reducing our carbon footprint. Energy efficiency initiatives at our head office are now being implemented at other sites, and workshops with our asset groups have identified further opportunities for improvement.
Objectives and statistics |
Policy objective:Working towards the more sustainable use of resources. Measuring our progress:• In 2006 we reduced energy consumption at our Westferry Circus head office by three per cent compared to an equivalent nine month period in 2005 |
Electricity for trains
One of the Underground’s biggest environmental impacts is the electricity used to run trains. We will be replacing all signalling on the Jubilee line by 2009, the Northern line by 2011 and the Piccadilly line by 2014. This upgrade will introduce more equipment to the network, bringing increased capacity and more frequent, faster trains – and increased energy use.
To complement the Piccadilly line signal upgrade, we will be introducing a new fleet of trains. Ensuring that the new rolling stock is as energy efficient as possible is important, particularly since the new trains will have many extra features such as CCTV which will increase energy demand.
The increased capacity and reliability that the line upgrades give us is expected to boost modal shift – motivating more people to leave their cars at home and use public transport.**
Dirty drought
The long hot summer brought a particular challenge for us in 2006, when Sutton and East Surrey Water imposed a drought order and asked us to stop using the Northern line’s Morden depot train wash.
We have since reviewed the efficiency of our train washes – all of which use recycled water – and are looking at ways to reduce the amount of mains water used to top up the train washes and optimise the cleaning process. We are also looking into alternative supplies of water including water harvesting at depots.
* Energy and utility consumption at the Northern line depots is not included in this report as these premises are managed by Alstom.
** Electric trains with an average passenger load create approximately 56 gCO2/passenger km as compared to 104gCO2/passenger km of the average modern petrol car with an average passenger load. Source: UK Energy Research Centre. (London Underground Environment Report 2006 identifies the carbon efficiency of the Tube as 56.3gCO2/passenger km).
Case Study |
Simple measures, great savingsHow a range of measures has brought a three per cent decrease in energy consumption at Tube Lines’ head office. “When the consultants working on behalf of the Carbon Trust paid us a visit, they were impressed by the savings we had made!”Clive Jones, Facilities Operations Manager |
News in brief |
- Following the successful installation of LED and long-life lamps at London Bridge and Waterloo stations, we are continuing to install these lights at other stations. Although they have only brought a small reduction in energy consumption so far, greater energy savings are expected in the future as manufacturers continue to develop their products. - Tube Lines Premises, Civils and Minor Work team has installed waterless urinals that not only reduce the consumption of mains water at stations but also reduce the number of faults associated with traditional urinals. |
