GLASGOW Central Station will see about 500 COP26 visitors arrive aboard a ‘climate train’ this evening.
After departing from Amsterdam this morning, a train chartered by the organisation Youth for Sustainable Travel will arrive under the banner ‘Rail to the COP’ at 6pm in Glasgow Central Station.
The same organisation sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 2019 for COP25.
For this year's summit in Glasgow, they have chartered trains in collaboration with ProRail, Eurostar and NS to travel from Amsterdam to Glasgow. The train that travelled from Amsterdam to London was a Siemens-built e320 for Eurostar.
They will be welcomed by March for Future, a group of grandparents who have walked from Edinburgh to Glasgow, and the Glasgow COP Coalition.
On board the train is delegates from the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Germany, as well as 150 youth activists and members of the European Parliament.
READ MORE: Pilgrimage groups arrive in Glasgow after walking thousands of miles
Chair of the organisation, Mara de Pater said: “It is a unique opportunity to have all these different groups together on the train.
“We organised a programme on the train to bring the different expertise and perspectives into discussion in dialogues and workshops. The core theme in these sessions is: fair and sustainable transition in the travel industry”.
The train departed at 8:47am this morning, and will be making stops in Rotterdam, Brussels and London. It will then travel from London to Glasgow on an Avanti West Coast train.
A number of workshops were held on the train looking at the development of the railways, one of these was a workshop run by Siemens Mobility looking at enhancing the train of the future by using prototyping. Others looked at transforming society, transforming investment and fair and sustainable travel for all.
Organisers say the train is a much more climate-friendly way to arrive, with just one passenger’s carbon footprint from one flight between Amsterdam and London the same as seven Eurostar journeys.
Rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “Our railways are one of the most sustainable ways for people to travel.
“As we host the world at Cop26, I’m proud that our railway is playing its part in the fight against climate change.
“We are committed to achieving a net-zero rail network by 2050, ensuring our railways continue to play a pivotal role in enabling greener, cleaner journeys for passengers.”
The launch of the train comes as youth climate activist Greta Thunberg makes her way to Glasgow from Euston on for the summit.
She was seen on a platform waiting for a different train, carrying a rucksack.
READ MORE: COP26 protests in full as disruption looms in towns and cities across Scotland
Protests in Glasgow began earlier this week, and more are expected every day in the city as it hosts the climate conference.
Extinction Rebellion activists yesterday chained their necks to the University of Glasgow to demand a new green deal, and today demonstrations continued as activists joined pilgrimage groups who have walked thousands of miles to Glasgow for the summit.
More chaos looms as 100,000 activists are set to march from Kelvingrove on November 6.
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