UK Rail Experiment Turns Train Gusts into Renewable Power

A new pilot on Britain’s railway could turn the rush of passing trains into a source of clean electricity, as LNER and start-up Treeva begin testing small wind turbines alongside the East Coast Main Line.

In a project described as a UK rail first, three compact turbines have been installed at Hitachi Rail’s Craigentinny depot in Edinburgh, where they capture energy from the turbulent airflow generated by trains. According to LNER, the devices stand around six feet tall, are built from upcycled materials, and require no connection to the power grid, making them easy to deploy along unused trackside land.

The idea is simple and unusual at the same time: instead of relying on natural wind, the turbines harness the artificial gusts created by high-speed trains passing at close range. That energy is then converted into electricity and used to power small pieces of railway infrastructure, from lighting to digital systems.

According to Rail Industry Connect, a single turbine can generate enough electricity to cover roughly a third of the lighting needs at a small station, power four CCTV cameras, or run two passenger information screens. On a slightly larger scale, five turbines could reduce emissions by more than 12,000 kilograms of CO₂ per year, which the project team compares to planting around 500 trees.

From Start-up Idea to Live Railway Trial

The technology didn’t come out of a traditional rail supplier. Treeva first emerged through the Future Labs innovation programme, an initiative bringing together start-ups and UK train operators to test new ideas in real-world conditions. According to LNER’s earlier programme overview, the accelerator attracted nearly 500 applicants, with only nine selected for development and testing. Treeva’s concept of generating renewable energy from passing transport stood out early on, winning the People’s Choice Award at the Future Labs Expo. That visibility helped push the idea beyond theory and into a live rail environment.

Now, after months of development and collaboration with LNER, Network Rail, and Hitachi Rail, the turbines have moved from pitch decks to trackside installation. The three units, informally named “Sir Spins-a-Lot,” “AC Breezy,” and “Windiana Jones” by LNER staff, will remain in place for at least six months, during which their performance will be closely monitored.

Small Devices, but a Bigger Question

For now, the project is still very much a proof-of-concept. The electricity output is modest, and the focus is less on immediate scale and more on understanding whether the idea works reliably in real railway conditions.

As Anjali Devadasan, CEO of Treeva, explains, the broader goal is to rethink how infrastructure is powered. Instead of seeing railway land as passive space, the company is trying to turn it into a distributed energy source that supports itself. In theory, systems like this could help reduce reliance on external power supplies, especially for low-energy assets spread across the network.

From LNER’s side, the emphasis is on data and practicality. The operator wants to see how the turbines perform over time: how much energy they actually generate, how stable the output is, and whether the system can operate safely without interfering with railway operations. According to Rail Industry Connect, the results of this trial will determine whether a wider rollout is even worth considering.

A Small Step Toward Lower-Carbon Rail

The UK rail sector has been steadily pushing toward lower emissions and reduced energy consumption, and projects like this sit somewhere between innovation and experimentation. They are not designed to replace large-scale electrification or renewable energy supply, but rather to fill small gaps: powering isolated equipment, reducing grid demand, and making use of space that would otherwise sit idle.

What makes this trial interesting is not just the technology itself, but the logic behind it. Railways are full of constant motion, pressure changes, and airflow, yet most of that energy is simply lost. Treeva’s approach tries to capture a tiny fraction of it and put it to practical use. Whether that idea scales is still an open question. But for now, as trains continue to rush past Craigentinny, the experiment is testing whether the movement of rail traffic itself can become part of the energy system that supports it.