This year’s International Railway Summit staged by IRJ focussed on some of the subjects of key concern to the railway industry namely the huge changes taking place in the European passenger rail market, research and digitisation. David Briginshaw reports on the lively discussions which took place.

THE International Union of Railways (UIC) is protesting strongly against a unilateral decision by the European Pallet Association (EPAL) to terminate an agreement for the exchange of freight pallets which will take effect on May 1.

WE have recently seen a number of landmark United Nations (UN) agreements that set clear objectives for the coming years. Most notable among these are UN Resolution 70/1 presenting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the historic COP21 Paris agreement concerning climate change.

There is growing acknowledgement that sustainable transport is a key enabler of sustainable development and the SDGs. In 2016 the UN convened the first Global Conference on Sustainable Transport. The UIC contributed to this event, which was attended by heads of state, numerous ministers and over 200 leaders of business and civil society.

Transport is a critical issue for climate change, as it is responsible for almost one quarter of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions whilst also being vulnerable to extreme weather events.

Following these agreements, the global sustainable development community shifted its focus to implementation. This provides an opportunity that the rail sector must not miss. As the backbone of sustainable transport, our challenge is to make the case for investment and development of rail as part of the solution to climate change and delivering the SDGs.

With the mandate to make recommendations on how to accelerate the delivery of sustainable transport, I was appointed by the UN secretary general Mr Ban Ki-moon to serve on the High Level Advisory Group for Sustainable Transport. The findings of this group represent an unprecedented consensus from the public and private sectors, different transport modes, national and city governments, and passenger and freight sectors. The 10 policy recommendations are presented in the report Mobilising Sustainable Transport for Development which was published in October 2016. UIC will now dedicate itself to support the implementation of these recommendations.

Energy and climate change are certain to remain major issues - and continue to present both opportunities and challenges. UIC works closely with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and has for a number of years jointly published the UIC-IEA Handbook on railway energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. The 2016 edition illustrates that while rail is already one of the most lowest-emitting modes of transport it is also improving its performance.

Since 1990, railway energy consumption has improved by 37% per transport unit, and carbon emissions by 30% per transport unit. Modelling by the IEA has confirmed that this trajectory is on target to meet both the objectives of the Paris agreement on climate change and the voluntary targets announced in the UIC Low Carbon Rail Transport Challenge and presented at the 2014 UN Climate Summit. The UIC has a well-developed programme designed to improve energy management.

Far greater reductions in transport carbon emissions can be made by achieving a modal shift - by increasing rail’s market share at the expense of higher-carbon transport. Notably, this aligns well with the objectives of the European Union transport white paper.

The UN process on climate change is now offering tangible opportunities to influence transport policy and investment decisions. In support of the COP21 Paris agreement, each country has submitted a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) providing details on how far it will reduce carbon emissions and which sectors will be affected. Analysis of the NDCs show that in 77% of the submissions, transport is explicitly mentioned by national governments as an area for mitigation. However, specific actions to develop heavy rail appear in only around 19% of submissions. The UN climate process requires governments to increase ambition and publish revised NDCs in 2020.

A priority for the UIC is to use our UN accreditation to participate in UN COP negotiations and present clear advice encouraging the development of rail to reduce transport emissions.

Experience has shown that climate policy should not be considered in isolation. The high-level advisory group adopted a definition of sustainable transport as “the provision of services and infrastructure for the mobility of people and goods - advancing economic and social development to benefit today’s and future generations - in a manner that is safe, affordable, accessible, efficient, and resilient, while minimising carbon and other emissions and environmental impacts.”

A vision for rail, as the backbone of sustainable transport, must respond to all dimensions of sustainability.

One of our key messages must be that sustainable transport is no more expensive than the unsustainable business-as-usual. Transformation requires a redirection, rather than any substantial increase in infrastructure expenditure, and can be realised through an annual investment of around $US 2 trillion, similar to the current business-as-usual spending of $US 1.4 - 2.1 trillion, according to a 2016 World Resources Institute working paper.

When considering full transport costs, including fuel, operational expenses and vehicles, sustainable transport can deliver savings of $US 70 trillion by 2050 whilst reducing carbon emissions by 7 giga-tonnes (according to the IEA) and alleviating congestion. Notably, improvements in border administration, transport and communications infrastructure could increase global GDP by $US 2.6 trillion, or 4.7%, according to a 2013 World Economic Forum report.

The international community has provided a clear mandate presenting both opportunities and challenges. The time has come to deliver.

DURING its general assembly held this week in St Petersburg, the International Union of Railways (UIC) unanimously selected Mr Renato Mazzoncini, CEO of Italian State Railways (FS), as its new chairman for the two-year term from 2017-2018.

THE International Union of Railways (UIC) is set to participate in seven events at this weekend’s COP22 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech to highlight rail’s role as part of the solution to climate change.

AHEAD of next week’s COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco, the United Nation’s independent High Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport has issued the Global Sustainable Transport Outlook Report, which includes 10 recommendations for how governments, businesses, and civil society should redirect resources in the transport sector to advance sustainable development.

ACCORDING to an International Union of Railways’ (UIC) report released on October 4, improved safety in railway operations led to a 14% drop in 2015 in accidents compared with 2014, and a 32% decrease since 2006.

THE members of the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Managers (CER), the International Rail Transport Committee (CIT), the association of European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM), and the International Union of Railways (UIC) have joined forces to present a joint roadmap that promotes the use of digital technology in the rail sector.

This year's International Railway Summit offered an excellent insight to the current state of the railway industry in Europe. David Briginshaw reviews the highlights.

VIENNA was the location for three days of meetings, networking and debate at the International Railway Summit 2016, hosted by IRJ and IRITS Events on February 17-19.

Setting the tone for the discussions that would follow, Mr Christian Kern CEO of Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) told delegates during his address at the opening dinner that ÖBB will invest €40bn during the next five years. "This is probably the most ambitious investment programme in Europe in terms of GDP," Kern said. He also claimed that the scale of investment in the railway has helped to prevent Austria from going into recession.

Kern cited the recently-completed main station in Vienna as an example of what is being achieved and the potential such projects have for the wider economy. "The new main station has reduced the cost of operating trains through Vienna and has cut journey time significantly," Kern explained. He said the project cost around €1bn, but a further €3bn is being invested by the private sector to redevelop former railway land to provide homes for 10,000 people and work places for a further 20,000.

However, Kern is fearful for the future, pointing to the deteriorating performance of German Rail (DB), which has since announced a loss of €1.5bn for 2015, its first since 2003. "We have to ask if DB is in this situation, what will the future be for ÖBB? I feel our industry is lagging behind other industries such as automotive with the development of driverless cars. We need to speed up development and stay focussed on what we are doing. We need to have a much more efficient railway and we need politicians to back this."

This view was echoed by Dr Josef Doppelbauer, executive director of the European Railway Agency (ERA), who said railways are in a critical situation in Europe at the moment. "Despite the benefits of rail transport, rail still has a low market share of around 7% for passenger and 17-18% for freight. Unit costs for rail are 100% more than for other modes. The cost of the assets is too high and utilisation is low because of the poor availability of the assets and poor maintenance."

Dopplebauer also cited a lack of standardisation as another cost driver. "If we compare air with rail, there are two big families of aircraft with around 4000 Boeing 737s and 3000 Airbus A320s in service, compared with 550 TGVs of seven different types and the Japanese Shinkansen family of 600 trains."

Cooperation

Mr Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, director general of the International Union of Railways (UIC), said that as a global organisation promoting interoperability, innovation and standardisation, including in Europe, he is keen to develop mutual cooperation between the UIC and ERA. However, he was concerned about the possibility of duplication between the UIC's and ERA's work, a point which Doppelbauer was keen to address.

"We don't want to standardise everything because it is not necessary," Doppelbauer said. "It is important to agree with the UIC where we can cooperate and not step on each other's toes. We are very happy that various standards are driven by the UIC and are not subjected to legal standardisation. This helps everyone to operate more efficiently."

Doppelbauer added that it is important that the railway industry continues to push for greater competition and innovation. He pointed out that since the introduction of NTV in Italy, trains now depart between Milan and Rome every few minutes which has all but killed off air traffic between the two cities, demonstrating that competition clearly works in the industry's favour.

Lord Tony Berkeley, board member of the European Rail Freight Association and chairman of the UK Rail Freight Group, pointed out that growth can be achieved in railfreight where there is fair competition. "Railfreight has grown by 60% in Britain, but has dropped by 50% in France during the last 10 years," Berkeley told delegates. "The infrastructure manager must be independent and treat everyone fairly."

Unfortunately this is often not the case, as Berkeley observed. "Single wagon freight accounts for 50% of the freight market in Europe but it is closed to private operators because they are denied access to the terminals. People love monopolies. We need a full liberalisation agenda."

Berkeley urged customers, independent operators and others must challenge the status quo: "We need to support EC transport commissioner Violeta Bulc's vision for the rail sector 'to deliver the investment, efficiency, reliability and keep competitive' with 'new business models for passenger and freight services, and innovation such as digitalisation.' The rail industry should stop complaining about competition with road and air and put its house in order first."

Open-access

Mr Peter Köhler, who is CEO Europe of Czech opem- access passenger operator Leo Express, explained how it has succeeded in running a privately-financed passenger service in competition with the subsidised incumbent Czech Railways (CD). "Our occupancy rate is double that of CD, our Ebitda has quadrupled and we expect to move into profit this year," Köhler explained. "Passenger numbers between Prague and Ostrava have increased by 50% since private operators entered the Czech passenger rail market. We were the first with a full 'infotainment' system on board. But we had problems obtaining attractive sites for depots and ticket offices in stations – we want access to idle resources."

Leo Express has carried 1.1 million passengers in the first three years of operating its rail service which now connects Prague with Ostrava, as well as Kosice and Presov in Slovakia, supported by bus feeder routes, which it regards as a prelude to expanding its rail network.

Köhler is disappointed that the Fourth Railway Package will not usher in fairer competition as quickly as originally foreseen. "The original plan was to get rid of direct awards for concessions by 2019, but now this has been put back to 2024-2026, which with a 15-year term for some concessions means 2042."

Dr Knut Sauer, vice-president business development, strategy and sales, with Hyperloop Technologies, gave delegates a glimpse into the future with his presentation on the Hyperloop project which foresees passengers travelling totally automatically in pods travelling at up to 1100km/h inside a tube. "Hyperloop is not here to replace rail but to add a fifth mode of transport," he reassured delegates.

Sauer claimed that Hyperloop will use one-third the energy of a high-speed railway, and will provide an on demand, point-to-point service with 25-35 passengers per vehicle.

"The original idea was to build a Hyperloop between San Francisco and Los Angeles, but we believe the first Hyperloop will move freight between a large port and a conurbation – it is easier to get regulatory approval for freight than for passenger," Sauer explained.

"We should have 250 employees and we will prove full system capability before the end of the year. We are looking at passive maglev technology and linear propulsion in a depressurised tube as the air drag is a lot less. We are building a 1200m test track to test the propulsion system and we will have a 3.2km test tube by the end of the year. We are also trying to drive down the construction and operating costs.

"By 2020, we expect to have the first freight Hyperloop and the first passenger Hyperloop in 2021 but the first passenger Hyperloop won't be in the United States," Sauer concluded.

Italy's infrastructure manager, Italian Rail Network (RFI), will receive a massive injection of additional government funds to invest in upgrading the network and increasing capacity. Maurizio Gentile, RFI's CEO, explains to David Briginshaw how the money will be spent.