RAIL passengers have been able to cut back on plastic waste thanks to the introduction of drinking water fountains.

Greater Anglia says fountains installed on station platforms last year have reduced the amount of single-use plastic bottles being thrown away.

A total of 274,698 bottles have been refilled using the 12 fountains which have been set up at stations such as Witham and Chelmsford.

Greater Anglia head of safety Matt Wakefield said: “I am so pleased to see so many of our customer using the free water fountains around the stations to fill up their water bottles, saving thousands of plastic water bottles from going into landfill and our oceans.

“We care about the environment, so we are delivering a number of projects to improve our energy-efficiency and operate in a more sustainable manner – from installing LED lighting, to providing free electric car charging points.

"We are in the process of replacing our entire fleet of trains with brand new ones. Our new trains can run diesel or electric and are better for the environment than our old trains.

“We have seen how popular the water fountains are amongst our customers and we are thrilled to know that they are making a positive impact on our environment."