London bus depot completes £4m overhaul to power electric fleets
Arriva’s Thornton Heath facility has had a significant infrastructure upgrade and can now power plug-in public transport for the UK capital.
The Whitehall Road site will soon be a base for 109 electric buses following the installation, which was delivered and funded by UK Power Networks’ Green Recovery Fund.
Work included fitting 5km of high-voltage underground cabling and expanding capacity at an electricity substation, meaning the depot can now provide the amount of power necessary to charge a full fleet of the new vehicles.
‘This investment is a watershed for Thornton Heath bus garage, which can now electrify its bus fleet and usher in a new age of cleaner, greener electric public transport,’ said Adam Lakey, who leads on the Green Recovery projects for UK Power Networks. ‘Our Green Recovery programme has delivered essential new power infrastructure to bus fleets, motorway service areas and rapid charging hubs to connect more electric vehicles and accelerate the country’s transition to net zero carbon emissions.
London already has one of the greenest bus systems in the world, registering lower emissions other major cities including Vancouver, Paris and New York, with 1,500 zero emission buses in the UK capital’s fleet. Nevertheless, air pollution remains a significant problem, with Transport for London committed to a number of schemes that aim to bring emissions down even further.
In related news, earlier this week Downing Street unveiled plans for a ‘revolution in bus services’ across England, handing control of routes and timetables to more local authorities, mirroring similar agreements in place for London and Greater Manchester’s public transport networks.
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Image: Arriva / UK Power Networks