Railways are one of the greenest forms of transport, but they still use huge amounts of electricity. So why not run trains on solar power?

 

铁路是最环保的运输方式之一，但仍需消耗大量的电力。那么，为什么不利用太阳能发电来驱动火车呢？

 

These look like ordinary commuter trains, but near this station something unusual is happening. They're getting a little bit of power directly from this trackside solar farm.

 

Many railways are replacing diesel trains with cleaner electric ones. But in the UK, rail is the biggest single consumer of electricity. So there's a push to get more from renewable sources.

 

And how about countries with even more Sun than the UK?

 

Nearly 1,000 stations in India have solar panels on their rooves. And Indian Railways plan to be carbon neutral by 2030.

 

Australia already has a train run entirely on solar power. Its batteries are charged by panels on the train roof and at the station. It actually exports 75% of the energy it creates back to the grid. But this train only goes a short distance and battery storage is limited.