Friday, April 25, 2008
Three priorities on the path to a sustainable railway
Environmental considerations are assuming an increasing importance in shaping global transport policies. Such is the potential impact that delegates to the UIC Highspeed 2008 congress in Amsterdam agreed by a substantial margin that environmental concerns and global warming were the biggest single issue to emerge in the rail sector over the past three years.
There are many unanswered questions about the science of climate change, but there is a growing concern about the use of fossil fuels, which account for 80% of global energy production, and pressure to develop alternative sources of renewable energy. Figures suggest that the transport sector now accounts for 30% of total energy use.
Earlier this year the European Environment Agency published Climate for a Transport Change, looking at the impact of transport across 32 countries. The report warns that 'greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector continue to increase steadily', with rising demand for freight and passenger movement outweighing any gains from improved energy efficiency and the introduction of non-fossil fuels.
EEA believes that measures to reduce the environmental impact of transport ‘must go beyond the sector itself’ to address wider economic issues, although ‘the transport sector must raise its game’. Rail is seen as more sustainable than other modes, but whilst both freight and passenger traffic are rising in absolute terms, the report finds that rail’s market share is continuing to fall. And UIC’s Senior Adviser, Environment & Energy, Raimondo Orsini warned in Amsterdam that ‘in some areas public perception is very different from the real data’.
I believe that there are three main ways in which the rail industry needs to address environmental issues – competitiveness, innovation and campaigning.
There is certainly much that can be done right now to encourage greater use of rail. As we have remarked before, if high speed trains are to compete effectively against air there is an urgent need to improve the customer interfaces, particularly in terms of information and ticketing. To compete with the flexibility of the private car, rail operators must offer fast, reliable and cost-effective transport, plus better integration with other modes to provide convenient door-to-door service. Freight shippers also demand reliability, quality of service and competitive rates, alhough recent surveys suggest that when it comes to modal choice environmental issues are still some way down their list of priorities.
As Eurostar CEO Richard Brown told us earlier this year, the operator’s Tread Lightly campaign not only includes a pledge of carbon-neutral operation, but addresses other aspects such greater use of recyclable materials, rainwater harvesting, and cutting paper consumption by 25%. Barely six months after the campaign was launched, a survey found Eurostar was perceived as one of the top 20 environmentally-aware companies in the world.
Research is needed into emissions, energy and noise, as well as operational innovations such as freight telematics. Prof Roger Kemp addressed the energy questions in the January issue of Railway Gazette International, and recent concerns over rising prices and food shortages seem to confirm his warning that biofuel production may not be as ‘green’ as its proponents believe.
Noting that some governments are imposing environmental obligations or increased taxes on the rail sector, but perversely not on its less-sustainable competitors, UNIFE Chairman André Navarri pointed out in Amsterdam that ‘the EU needs a legal framework where rail is not penalised in taxes and aviation gets away scot-free’.
The European rail industry continues to campaign for a level playing field, driven in part by a remit for the European Commission to bring forward proposals by June for revisions to the Eurovignette Directive on road tolls for heavy lorries. Suggesting that the EU needed a policy that would ‘achieve emissions reduction without damaging the economy’, which implied ‘a modal shift to rail’, UNIFE Director General Michael Clausecker insists that ‘as an industry we do not believe in dirigiste measures’. Nevertheless, he is concerned that the proposals envisage a marginal rather than full-cost approach to meeting the external costs that road users impose on society.
With the external costs of European transport as a whole put at around 7% of GDP, it is clearly important to address policy imbalances and campaign for fairer treatment. However, there is inevitably a risk that the rail sector will be seen as lobbying for its own interests, unless it is seen to be making efforts to put its own house in order.
There is still much to do, but if the industry can get it right, as Navarri told congress delegates in Amsterdam, ‘we are only at the beginning of a railway renaissance throughout the world.’
There are many unanswered questions about the science of climate change, but there is a growing concern about the use of fossil fuels, which account for 80% of global energy production, and pressure to develop alternative sources of renewable energy. Figures suggest that the transport sector now accounts for 30% of total energy use.
Earlier this year the European Environment Agency published Climate for a Transport Change, looking at the impact of transport across 32 countries. The report warns that 'greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector continue to increase steadily', with rising demand for freight and passenger movement outweighing any gains from improved energy efficiency and the introduction of non-fossil fuels.
EEA believes that measures to reduce the environmental impact of transport ‘must go beyond the sector itself’ to address wider economic issues, although ‘the transport sector must raise its game’. Rail is seen as more sustainable than other modes, but whilst both freight and passenger traffic are rising in absolute terms, the report finds that rail’s market share is continuing to fall. And UIC’s Senior Adviser, Environment & Energy, Raimondo Orsini warned in Amsterdam that ‘in some areas public perception is very different from the real data’.
I believe that there are three main ways in which the rail industry needs to address environmental issues – competitiveness, innovation and campaigning.
There is certainly much that can be done right now to encourage greater use of rail. As we have remarked before, if high speed trains are to compete effectively against air there is an urgent need to improve the customer interfaces, particularly in terms of information and ticketing. To compete with the flexibility of the private car, rail operators must offer fast, reliable and cost-effective transport, plus better integration with other modes to provide convenient door-to-door service. Freight shippers also demand reliability, quality of service and competitive rates, alhough recent surveys suggest that when it comes to modal choice environmental issues are still some way down their list of priorities.
As Eurostar CEO Richard Brown told us earlier this year, the operator’s Tread Lightly campaign not only includes a pledge of carbon-neutral operation, but addresses other aspects such greater use of recyclable materials, rainwater harvesting, and cutting paper consumption by 25%. Barely six months after the campaign was launched, a survey found Eurostar was perceived as one of the top 20 environmentally-aware companies in the world.
Research is needed into emissions, energy and noise, as well as operational innovations such as freight telematics. Prof Roger Kemp addressed the energy questions in the January issue of Railway Gazette International, and recent concerns over rising prices and food shortages seem to confirm his warning that biofuel production may not be as ‘green’ as its proponents believe.
Noting that some governments are imposing environmental obligations or increased taxes on the rail sector, but perversely not on its less-sustainable competitors, UNIFE Chairman André Navarri pointed out in Amsterdam that ‘the EU needs a legal framework where rail is not penalised in taxes and aviation gets away scot-free’.
The European rail industry continues to campaign for a level playing field, driven in part by a remit for the European Commission to bring forward proposals by June for revisions to the Eurovignette Directive on road tolls for heavy lorries. Suggesting that the EU needed a policy that would ‘achieve emissions reduction without damaging the economy’, which implied ‘a modal shift to rail’, UNIFE Director General Michael Clausecker insists that ‘as an industry we do not believe in dirigiste measures’. Nevertheless, he is concerned that the proposals envisage a marginal rather than full-cost approach to meeting the external costs that road users impose on society.
With the external costs of European transport as a whole put at around 7% of GDP, it is clearly important to address policy imbalances and campaign for fairer treatment. However, there is inevitably a risk that the rail sector will be seen as lobbying for its own interests, unless it is seen to be making efforts to put its own house in order.
There is still much to do, but if the industry can get it right, as Navarri told congress delegates in Amsterdam, ‘we are only at the beginning of a railway renaissance throughout the world.’
