Strangely, human waste-fueled trains will be used as a much-needed alternative to pollution creating diesel engines.
The latest technology of trains will be transporting humans running on their own waste combined with that of animals.
The Independent reported back in January that the new technology aims to replace city trains with bio-methane fueled options to help safeguard the environment and reduce pollution in the cities.
Biomethane-Fueled Railcar
A grant of £60,000 was leveraged to ULR Partners by the U.K governments Sustainable Innovation Fund to create these new biomethane-fueled trains. The company intends to use these funds to develop a sustainable railcar that will have a capacity of carrying approximately 120 passengers.
Biomethane is a kind of biofuel taken from multiple waste products. It includes sewage sludge, animal manure, farming crop residue, and food waste. These are processed with bacteria to develop a gas that could be used as a cleaner source of energy. Besides being safe for the environment, the novel method will also help in burning tons of waste every year that otherwise couldn’t be recycled easily.
It is known that biomethane does release carbon into the atmosphere; however, it is argued that it would release it due to natural causes anyway. Hence, using it as a source of clean fuel gives its components a new utilization that also stops the unnecessary burning of fossil fuels.
The new trains are ready to travel on branch lines formerly re-opened under government plans to cancel railway cuts.
ULR Partners’ COVID-Safe Travel
Beverley Nielsen, the CEO of Ultra Light Rail Partners, said in a statement, “this really is a vote of confidence in our business, which is fully focussed on providing lightweight, affordable railcar travel as a comfortable, modern, reliable and safe alternative to traveling by car.”
The ULR Partners, while telling more on its healthy effects on the environment, said that “We want to be able to offer this option to larger towns and smaller cities around the country so they can realistically take polluting vehicles out of their city and town centers ensuring a better quality of life for all.”
Sustainability West Midlands’ recent monitoring pointed out that decreasing the levels of PM2.5 pollutant by 50 percent will prevent nearly 952 deaths in the West Midlands each year.
Apart from running on a clean source of fuel, the new trains contain numerous features that will make traveling in it safe amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. It uses ultra-violet lights and heavily filtered air to make the ambiance inside as clean as possible.
