Three wind turbines have been installed alongside the East Coast Main Line to capture energy from passing trains.
As the front of a train hits stationary air, it creates a high-pressure zone leading to significant turbulence that can be used to spin wind turbines.
Train operator LNER installed the turbines at Hitachi Rail’s Craigentinny depot. Standing at around six feet tall and manufactured using upcycled materials, the turbines require no grid connection and are designed to be easily deployed on unused land alongside railway tracks.
The clean energy generated will be harnessed, measured and used to power a range of devices as a precursor to potentially a broader roll-out across the UK rail network.
LNER said that a single turbine can generate enough energy to power a third of a small station’s lighting needs, supply four CCTV cameras or run two passenger information screens. Five turbines have the capacity to reduce emissions of more than 12,000 kilograms of CO2 each year.
The firm worked...