Published on: Wednesday, 30 May 2018
Last updated: Thursday, 31 May 2018
Greater Anglia has become one of the first train operators in England to offer free water to passengers at one of its stations, as part of a drive to reduce the number of single-use plastic bottles.
Passengers can help themselves to free water from a new fountain at Chelmsford which was officially opened by Councillor Kevin Bentley, Deputy Leader of Essex County Council, today (30 May).
Greater Anglia is investing more than £30,000 in the initiative and will look to roll it out at other stations if it proves to be popular with customers.
Simone Bailey, Greater Anglia’s Asset Management Director, said: “Chelmsford is one of the busiest stations on our network and we hope that by providing free water, it will help makes passengers’ journeys a little easier. Customers will also be able to claim a free re-usable water bottle at the official opening.
“We care about the environment, so we are delivering a number of projects to improve our energy-efficiency and operate in a more sustainable manner - from installing LED lighting, to recycling food, to providing free electric car charging points.
“We already recycle as much of our waste as possible. We have increased our recycling by 71% over the past five years, but we are looking to increase that figure even further.”
Deputy leader of Essex County Council, Kevin Bentley, said: “I use Chelmsford station a lot and am very pleased that it now has a water fountain.
“Not only is water good for you, but using the machine helps to save on plastic. It’s important to reduce plastic bottles.”