Unipart Rail on track for £200,000 fuel saving with Bibby’s dual-fuel vehicles22 May 2014

Bibby Distribution has converted five MAN tractors to dual fuel LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) for use on its Unipart Rail contract.

The conversion is expected to save up to £200,000 of fuel and cut carbon emissions by 10% over five years.

The MAN TGS 26.440 LS units were converted by G-Volution at a cost of £8,500 per vehicle. An LPG tank was fitted and an onboard optimiser analyses engine output requirements and sources fuel from either the diesel or LPG tank, as required.

The vehicles were selected as they are double-shifted and clock up thousands of miles a year. Payback is anticipated to be 14 months, as LPG costs around 50p per litre, compared to £1.07 per litre for bulk diesel.

This will deliver a minimum saving of £29,000 per vehicle over five years – although changes to fuel prices could extend that figure to £40,000 each.

Bibby Distribution operates 30 vehicles for Unipart Rail, some of which cover more than 200,000km a year. The switch to LPG is expected to take 66 tonnes of CO2 out of Unipart's vehicle operations.

"We're already seeing substantial savings, both in terms of cash and carbon emissions, and we'll be breaking even on the investment in less than 18 months," predicts Duane Trower, logistics operations director at Unipart Rail.

Bibby has installed an LPG tank at the vehicles' home depot in Doncaster, allowing quick and easy refuelling as the units return to the hub each day after delivering refurbished train bogies across the country.

The move supports Unipart Rail's commitment to Network Rail's sustainability charter, to reduce carbon emissions and promote energy-efficient transportation.

Author
Laura Cork

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