Avanti West Coast introduce Water Refill Points onboard its Pendolino and Evero trains.
- Complimentary water available on Avanti West Coast Pendolino and Evero trains
- Easy to use water refill points located in the onboard shop
- Initiative expected to reduce the amount of single use plastic
Avanti West Coast has rolled out water refill points onboard for customers in a first for the railway industry.
The initiative, part of the company’s wider £450 million investment in its fleet, will see complimentary water available for those who are travelling on any service operated by either a Pendolino or Evero train.
The easy to use dispensing points proved to be a big hit with customers in the initial trial, whilst also helping to reduce the amount of single use plastic.
In pre-launch operational testing, customers travelling onboard the Pendolino fleet consumed over 21k litres of water in three months, the equivalent of 42,000 standard sized 500ml plastic water bottles.
Bob Powell, Head of Inclusive Customer Experience at Avanti West Coast said: ““The water refill points are another example of how we are raising the bar for rail travel in the UK.
“With many people now carrying their own water bottle, the opportunity to refill them free of charge, is part of our responsible business commitment to build a cleaner and greener railway, and significantly reduce single use plastic onboard our services."
The water for the Pendolino refill stations is provided by Wenlock Spring, a second generation family business based in Shropshire, and sourced from a protected historic spring, dating back to 1086, which is located near the famous Wenlock Edge.
Matthew Orme, Director at Wenlock Spring, said: “We’re proud to have worked on the development of the onboard refill points with Avanti West Coast. The water refill points dispense Wenlock Spring from reuseable bottles, which are returned to us for refilling time and time again.”