Chancellor Gordon Brown and Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson travelled together when Europe's first environmentally friendly biodiesel blend train went into scheduled service.

The Class 220 non-tilting Virgin Voyager train which has been modified to run on eco-friendly fuel, travelled from London Euston station to Llandudno, North Wales on its first trip on Thursday, 7 June.

Mr Brown travelled with Sir Richard as far as Chester on the train. The Chancellor said: "I want Britain to be a world leader in the development and use of environmentally-friendly fuels, and I believe they will play a fundamental part in our efforts to reduce emissions and tackle climate change.

"I wish Virgin every success with these pilot schemes and I look forward to hearing the results."

The four-coach train, one of 78 Voyager trains, is the first in Europe to use a blended fuel which can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The six-month trial is a major step in a national biodiesel programme, conducted by Virgin Trains, the Association of Train Operating Companies and the Rail Safety & Standards Board to pioneer a sustainable fuel breakthrough for the rail industry.

During the trial the Voyager will be run on a 20 percent biodiesel blend and travel on routes throughout the country.

Sir Richard explained how this can help reduce emissions: "This is a pioneering step we're taking. If the trial is a success - and we believe it will be - and we can convert our Voyager fleet to run on B20 biodiesel we could cut our CO2 emissions by up to 14 percent.

"This means 34,500 tonnes less CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere each year, and is equivalent to taking 23,000 cars off the road. Government wants to see a reduction in transport's carbon dioxide emissions, and Virgin and the rail industry are at the forefront.

"We're starting with 20 percent biodiesel and hope to increase this amount to 100 percent in the future which would potentially see 100,000 cars off the road."

Virgin CrossCountry Managing Director Chris Gibb said: "I am really proud that it is the people at Virgin Trains who are the first to have risen to the challenge."

As part of the investment in biodiesel special fuelling points have been installed at train maintainer Bombardier Transportation's depots in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire and Crofton, West Yorkshire and modifications have been made to the Cummins' engines on the trains.

During the trial the biodiesel train will run across much of Britain, from Birmingham to Scotland, in South Wales, North East England, the North West, Lake District, West Country, the South West and South Coast. Engine performance will be assessed regularly.

If the trial is a success the current higher duty on biodiesel means changes to duty levels would be required for a viable conversion of the fleet to biodiesel operation.

Currently, the Government heavily taxes biofuel, making wider adoption by operators costly. Gordon Brown stated he will wait for the completion of the trial before making any decision about reducing the level of duty on biofuel. The Treasury has made an isolated concession for this trial only, but beyond this the duty rate would be 54.68p per litre - considerably more than the 7.69p per litre duty paid by the rail industry for diesel - and would require legislation to change.

In addition to the environmental benefits of the Voyager trial, Virgin's Pendolino electric trains return 17 percent of the power they use to the national grid every time they brake, making the Pendolino fleet one of the most efficient in the world. Over the course of a year this is enough to power 11,825 homes. These trains emit 76 percent less CO2 than cars or domestic flights.

One hundred percent of any profits made by Virgin Group through its train and plane companies for the next 10 years will be invested into developing clean fuels.