Environmental measures

• In February 2022, Chiltern Railways, a rail company owned by DB Arriva, put the first 100 mph HybridFLEX train into passenger service on Britain’s national rail network. The HybridFLEX is the result of a four-year partnership between Chiltern Railways, Porterbrook (the train’s owner) and Rolls-Royce. The train has been fitted with a Rolls-Royce power unit, which means quieter and faster journeys and a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrogen oxides and pollutants are also reduced by 70% to 90%. The HybridFLEX train significantly reduces fuel consumption and cuts noise in and around stations and urban areas by up to 75%. It offers the possibility for customers to travel faster in the future, as it can leave the station more quickly.
• In March 2022, DB Arriva helped secure government financing for 74 new zero-emissionsno. 63 buses in West Yorkshire and Hertfordshire: DB Arriva UK Bus receives funding in two regions to accelerate its sustainability aspirations and pursuit of a zero-emissions fleet. The British government has announced the winners of financing for electric vehicles under its ZEBRA (Zero Emissions Bus Regional Areas) program.
• As part of its commitment to sustainability, DB Arriva has launched a project to use hydrogen in rail transport together with the Czech fuel distributor Čepro and the Czech chemical company Spolchemie. DB Arriva is aiming to purchase and operate a hydrogen train that could take over passenger transport mainly on non-electrified lines in the Ústí nad Labem region, where it would partially replace diesel locomotives.
• In spring 2022, DB Arriva introduced 16 new buses in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto regions that run on biomethane (CNG), making them among the first vehicles of this kind in these regions that can be used in urban and extra-urban transport.
• ProRail, DB Arriva Netherlands and the provinces of Overijssel, Gelderland and Friesland are testing an innovative new battery train (WINK) to see if the trains could (partially) run on a battery instead of diesel on non-electrified railway lines. This is a joint effort on the way to emis­­sions-free public transport. The tests were successful.
• In 2022, all diesel buses in the Limburg region were converted to hydrogenated vegetable oils (HVO) as a more sustainable fuel. In total, 22% of DB Arriva’s bus fleet in the region has been running on HVO since February 2022.