High speed trains running between Paris and Amsterdam are now being powered by about 2.1 miles of solar panels on a tunnel alongside the E19 motorway
Solar power boost for European high-speed rail link
High speed trains running between Paris and Amsterdam are now being powered by about 2.1 miles of solar panels on a tunnel alongside the E19 motorway.
The new photovoltaic cells can power the equivalent of 4,000 train trips, cutting the railways carbon dioxide output by 2,400 tons annually. This type of renewable power for trains may be the way forward for high-speed rail.
Enfinity, the company behind the solar project, has plans to build a wind farm in Belgium to power more trains. Current plans to increase solar rail in the UK have been put on hold after the government’s proposal to cut renewable energy subsidies.
