Arriva has completed a £17m electrification project at Norwood Depot in South London

Arriva Group has completed a £17m electrification project at its Norwood Depot in South London, UK. The electrification of the Norwood depot, delivered through Arriva UK Bus and in partnership with fleet electrification specialist Zenobē, includes state-of-the-art smart charging facilities and significant upgrades to the site’s power infrastructure.

This £17 million investment is part of a wider electrification programme for Arriva’s UK Bus operations in London, including Croydon, Enfield, Palmers Green, Tottenham and Thornton Heath.

Arriva electrifies depots in the UK

The depot is now home to 30 brand new Enviro400EV. These are the first next generation buses to be used on London’s roads, with pioneering features including blind spot monitoring and intelligent speed assistance.

The electric vehicles will serve customers on two key Transport for London (TfL) routes recently awarded to Arriva, including a new Superloop line which connects London’s suburbs with the capital’s centre.

Arriva’s Zero Emission Institute is supporting the electrification of Arriva’s depots in the UK and across mainland Europe. The ZEI is a hub of knowledge and expertise, sharing best practise with passenger transport authorities and Arriva’s businesses. It gathers learnings from across Arriva’s extensive operations to support the energy transition.

Matt Greener, Director of the Arriva Group’s Zero Emission Institute, said: “The completion of the Norwood depot electrification demonstrates Arriva’s continued commitment to investing in sustainable, innovative solutions to support our PTA’s transition to net-zero emissions. “Projects like this underpin our group-wide ambition to deliver cleaner passenger transport and we are applying this expertise across European markets. Arriva is proud to be leading from the front and encouraging greater use of sustainable passenger transport.”

Marcos Hart, Managing Director of Arriva UK Bus London, said: “We’re delighted to have completed the electrification of our Norwood Depot, underlining our commitment to TfL and the Mayor of London’s goal of a fully electrified bus fleet by 2030. “The project has enabled us to be the first operator to bring these state-of-the-art Enviro400EV buses to London, delivering the clean and high-performing networks our customers deserve – helping to encourage even more people to travel sustainably on public transport.”

Bradley Fox, Director of EV Fleet – UK & Nordics, Zenobē, said: “We’re proud to have completed another depot electrification project in partnership with Arriva bringing the total number of projects live or under construction to 13. At Arriva’s Norwood site, we have completely redeveloped the depot, including a strategic redesign of the existing layout and installation of 15 150kW chargers. The infrastructure will be integrated with Zenobē smart charging software and we are looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Arriva team in Norwood by providing ongoing maintenance of the depot’s infrastructure.”