Eurostar 100% Renewable Energy by 2030

Eurostar announces its goal to enable 30 million passengers to travel sustainably and with low carbon emissions by 2030.

Outlined in its first sustainability report, Eurostar’s strategy revolves around three main pillars:

• Reduce its impact by sourcing renewable energy for its traction needs and reducing its energy requirements; notably through a memorandum of understanding with Infrabel to study the installation of unprecedented solar projects to power the trains.
• Integrate circularity throughout the value chain, meaning from production to end-of-life of products, to minimize waste and use resources more efficiently. For example, each dish on board is carefully selected with sustainable sourcing and environmentally friendly options in mind.
• Attract more passengers to its low carbon service by continuing to develop “open hubs” to connect Eurostar services to national networks or long-haul flights, for instance through its air-rail partnership with KLM.

100% Renewable Energy Ambition by 2030

One of Eurostar’s main goals is to collaborate with partners and regulators with the aim of powering its trains using 100% renewable energy by 2030. “This is a deliberately ambitious goal, Eurostar aims to use its brand and commitment to try to accelerate change across the sector,” explains Gwendoline Cazenave, CEO of Eurostar. “Our objective is to work closely with our partners in each of our markets and encourage regulatory support for the rapid deployment of new renewable energy projects.”

To facilitate this work, Eurostar has recently joined the RE1002 alliance of companies committed to sourcing 100% renewable energy.

“We are delighted to welcome Eurostar to RE100, the first railway company to join. Eurostar is setting a global example and paving the way for the use of renewable energy to power rail networks,” says Ollie Wilson, head of RE100 at Climate Group. “Eurostar now has the opportunity to rely on a global network of over 400 companies as part of its efforts to achieve 30 million journeys a year powered by 100% renewable electricity by 2030. We encourage other companies in the rail sector to follow Eurostar’s example and commit to 100% renewable electricity.”

Currently, in the Netherlands, Eurostar trains have been running on 100% wind energy since 2017, and this figure reaches 40% in the UK since 2023. In Belgium, a memorandum of understanding was signed with Infrabel in February 2024 to study the installation of unprecedented solar projects to power the trains.

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