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Monday 12 Nov 2018

Network Rail makes a splash with free drinking water for passengers at London Waterloo

Region & Route:

Southern: Wessex

| Southern

Passengers are now benefitting from free drinking water facilities at Britain’s busiest railway station, London Waterloo, installed by Network Rail.

The new facility, located on the balcony, will provide free drinking water on the go for the 100 million passengers entering and exiting the station every year, helping reduce single use plastic waste.

As one of the country’s largest retail landlords, Network Rail understands the impact of single-use plastics on the environment and is also looking at ways it can work together with its station food and beverage retail tenants to reduce plastic waste.

Plans are in place to install additional drinking water facilities at the station in the near future.

Jason Murphy, Waterloo area manager for Network Rail, said:

“We're delighted that the free public water fountain is now up and running at Waterloo station.

“This is a really important step in improving passenger experience at the station and in showing our commitment to reducing waste."

Alan Penlington, customer experience director for South Western Railway, said:

“This is great news for our customers who use Waterloo station. We are committed to increasing our recycling rates across our network to 90% and have already reached our ambitious zero waste to landfill targets.

“The public water fountain will help customers keep hydrated and hopefully also reduce waste from plastic bottles.”

The initiative is in line with Network Rail’s commitment to reducing their energy consumption by 18% and carbon emissions by 25% over the next five years.

To find out more about how Network Rail is improving sustainability, visit www.networkrail.co.uk/who-we-are/sustainable-development/

ENDS