Since its launch in 1998, Heathrow Express has not only established itself as the first choice for passengers seeking the quickest way to and from Heathrow Airport, but also over that decade has regenerated enough energy, to have boiled 400,000,000 kettles.
Heathrow Express's friendly approach to the environment began even before the service was in operation. The electrification of the line from Paddington station enabled Heathrow Express to purchase carbon-efficient electric trains (class 332 Electrical Multiple Units) which were fitted with electrical regenerative brakes. Regenerative brake is a mechanism that reduces vehicle speed by converting some of its kinetic energy into another useful form of energy.
Brian Raven, managing director at Heathrow Express, said: "This was a significant commercial investment with a strong environmental return. Our regenerative braking system was one of the first introduced in the country. The captured energy is either stored for future use or fed back into the power system for use by other vehicles. Environmental calculations can be an extremely complex issue which is why we have used the analogy with kettles so people can understand the significant energy saving.
"Another significant factor in our selection of these electric powered units is that they do not generate any emissions or harmful pollutants, helping to improve local air quality."
In 2006 Heathrow Express was one of the first train companies to be accredited the ISO 14001 standard - the benchmark for all companies looking to manage their environmental management system (EMS). The standard requires Heathrow Express to demonstrate continual improvement and outlines requirements for:
- Determining environmental aspects
- Impacts of products/activities/services
- Planning environmental objectives and measurable targets
- Implementation and operation of programs to meet objectives and targets
- Checking and corrective action and management review.
Raven adds; "Heathrow Express customers are travelling on one of the most comfortable and fastest ways to the airport and we are committed to making sure our efforts help minimise the impact of these journeys on the environment."
How we calculated our figures
The figures were based on the following calculation for boiling a kettle, and average or derived figures for power regeneration.
- 1kWh=3600kJ (because by definition 1 Watt is 1 Joule per second, and therebare 3600 seconds in an hour)
- Plastic electric jug-kettle (2200W rating) Time to boil: 1m40s (100bseconds)
- Energy used: 100s×2200J/s = 220000J = 220kJ 220kJ/3600kJ/kWh = 0.061 kWh
About Heathrow Express
- Launched in June 1998 and operated by BAA, Heathrow Express celebrates its 10th year in service carrying an average of 16,000 passengers each day with over 50 million people having travelled on Heathrow Express since launch.
- Heathrow Express leaves every 15 minutes from London's Paddington station to London's Heathrow Airport. Customers can get to Heathrow Central (Terminals 1, 2 & 3) in 15 minutes and Terminal 5 six minutes later.