Around 70 trains now use hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), following a successful pilot project which saw two trains test the use of sustainable fuel on Northern Lines in the country. The switch to HVO is part of Arriva’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2025.
Arriva’s 18 WINK trains, from Stadler, have run on HVO since they were first commissioned in 2021. In addition, the 50 GTW trains running on the Northern Lines have now been prepared to run on HVO.
“This is an important step towards zero-emission train transport in the North,” said Avine Fokkens-Kelder, deputy of the Fryslân province. “We are working towards that step by step. For example, in Groningen and Fryslân, in addition to HVO, we also have tests with hydrogen and battery trains. And from 2027 we will be driving between Leeuwarden and Harlingen Haven with battery trains.”
Before Arriva decided to run all trains in Fryslân and Groningen on HVO, a pilot with two GTW trains took place. In this way, Arriva was able to learn about the use of sustainable fuel in trains in practice. This pilot in 2021 and 2022 showed that running on HVO was possible for all trains on the Northern Lines.
Milfred Hart, regional director of Arriva, added, “We are very pleased that we have also succeeded in having the GTW trains in the Northern Netherlands run on HVO fuel. Beforehand, we thought it would be quite a challenge to run a diesel train on HVO fuel. The fact that this has been achieved after a successful pilot period is something to be proud of.”