All aboard for Branson’s biodiesel special

LONDON – Billionaire Richard Branson’s commitment to combat global warming got on track yesterday as Europe’s first scheduled passenger train fuelled by vegetable oil left London for North Wales.

Branson’s Virgin Trains is running one of its trains on a 20 per cent biodiesel blend for a six-month trial and the British entrepreneur said his whole fleet might eventually be converted to run on biofuels. Britain’s current finance minister and next prime minister Gordon Brown attended the send-off at Euston station after facilitating the trial by allowing a special tax dispensation.”There is a possibility as the engines get changed we could go up to 100 per cent biodiesel,” Branson told a news conference, adding the company had been advised its current engines should run on a 20 per cent blend.Branson has committed to spending all the profits from his airline and rail business to combat global warming.He also plans next year to have a test flight for one of his passenger aircraft using a biofuel.Virgin CrossCountry Managing Director Chris Gibb said the biofuel for locomotives would come mainly from the UK via domestically produced rapeseed oil blended with US soybean oil and palm oil from the Far East.Nampa-ReutersBritain’s current finance minister and next prime minister Gordon Brown attended the send-off at Euston station after facilitating the trial by allowing a special tax dispensation.”There is a possibility as the engines get changed we could go up to 100 per cent biodiesel,” Branson told a news conference, adding the company had been advised its current engines should run on a 20 per cent blend.Branson has committed to spending all the profits from his airline and rail business to combat global warming.He also plans next year to have a test flight for one of his passenger aircraft using a biofuel.Virgin CrossCountry Managing Director Chris Gibb said the biofuel for locomotives would come mainly from the UK via domestically produced rapeseed oil blended with US soybean oil and palm oil from the Far East.Nampa-Reuters