South Western Railway improves air quality with new station tech

South Western Railway (SWR) has become the first Train Operating Company (TOC) to trial a Pluvo air-purifying totem at one of its stations.

To help combat the effects of air pollution, the Pluvo Column, which is sited on platform four at Salisbury station, will monitor and remove harmful pollutants from the air using its advanced air filtration technology to create a cleaner and healthier environment for customers.

The totem will also offer customers the opportunity to engage with SWR’s friendly bird mascot, Wesley C Peck, using Hello Lamp Post’s innovative text-based chat function, to get more information about the Pluvo Column and the station and to give SWR their thoughts on the initiative.

If the trial is successful, SWR could install Pluvo Columns at more of its stations as part of its drive to improve the journey experience for all its customers.

The important partnership with Pluvo, a leading innovator in clean air technology, is just one of the ways in which SWR is improving every step of customers’ journeys – from the moment they enter a station, though their train journeys, all the way through to exiting the station at their destination.

SWR has installed more than 4,000 cycle spaces across its vast network in the last five years and is encouraging sustainable tourism by enabling customers to travel by rail to a destination and then continue their journeys through bike and scooter hire.

It is also part of SWR’s drive to be a more sustainable train operator. SWR was the first TOC to publish a roadmap to Net Zero and to have its carbon emission reduction targets recognised by the Science Based Targets initiative, a leading global climate body.

Jessica Van Staden, South Western Railway’s Senior Sustainability Manager said:

“This partnership with Pluvo is very important to us as we investigate and trial new ways of improving our customers’ journeys. The results of the Pluvo Column trial at Salisbury could have far reaching effects on how we improve air quality in our stations as well as in other  public spaces.

“We would like to encourage customers at the station to use the Column’s chat feature to give us their opinion on the trial and whether they would like to see it extended to other SWR stations”.

Matteo Maccario, CEO of Pluvo, adds:

“We’re delighted to be working with SWR to improve the air quality at one of the South West’s busiest stations. Air Pollution is the single biggest environmental threat to global health and the Pluvo Column is a solution which can help create healthier and safer spaces for us all.”