The importance of rail in a sustainable future
The global challenge of climate change
The urgency of climate action cannot be overstated. As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently put it, "This is climate breakdown – in real-time." This adds to a decade of deadly heat where the past ten years were the hottest ever recorded. It is clear that we need to reduce CO2 emissions to fight climate change. In many industries, avoiding greenhouse gas emissions is either extremely challenging, as seen in the food industry where reducing emissions would require people to give up meat, or highly costly, like in the energy sector where decarbonizing gas power plants would add an extra 400€ per ton of CO2 avoided.
In contrast, switching from road to rail is even a positive business case.
- By saving CO2 emissions, you also save money as a passenger-kilometer on rail is cheaper than on the road. For example, while saving one ton of CO2 by switching from road to rail in the passenger segment, you also save 3100€.
- And as 24% of the global CO2 emissions come from the transport sector, this is a huge lever to fight climate change. For example, our new 1200 Locomotives in India will save over 800 million tons of CO2 emissions over their lifecycle by replacing trucks.
Rail is gaining momentum but is it enough?
We are seeing a clear shift, with passenger numbers increasing across many rail operators worldwide. But is that enough? The answer is yes and no. We need to keep convincing more and more people of rail as the preferred mode of transport, but we also need to accelerate the development of rail by making it even more attractive, and at the same time capable of accommodating rising passenger numbers.
To attract more passengers, rail must be a real and comfortable alternative to other modes of transport. A perfect example of how to rail can compete is the new high-speed link between Southern California and Las Vegas which is expected to be ready for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
At speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, trains will take passengers from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga in 2 hours and 10 minutes, twice as fast as a car journey, and very competitive with flight times of 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Besides travel times, another factor when it comes to traveling comfortably is the utilization rate of trains. The passenger does not want to sit in an overcrowded train, whereas the operator loses revenue when a train is empty. Therefore, Sqills offers S3 Passenger, a dynamic pricing, inventory management, and reservation system. For example, Danish State Railways recently opted for S3 Passenger to optimally allocate and sell available capacity during peak hours and leverage off-peak capacity more effectively.
If rail is to attract more and more passengers, we also need to prepare it for higher transport volumes. Here, digitalization plays a major role as it can help us to make better use of existing infrastructure. One example is the wider roll-out of CBTC technology to increase performance and capacity on metro systems. This is required as especially within cities, it is often impossible or extremely expensive to build additional tracks. Paris, in particular, was recently leading the charge with the latest Metro Line 12 joining the CBTC club following Lines 11 and 14.
These are many highlights from around the world, and in 2025 we can expect lots more from Egypt to India, Asia to Australia. By making rail even more attractive, and at the same time accommodating the rising passenger numbers, we can unlock the full potential of rail travel – for both people and the planet.
Siemens Mobility is addressing its own footprint
The shift from road to rail has a tremendous effect on sustainability. However, we should also tend to our own garden" i.e. look at what we can do with regards to our own footprint. For sure, this lever is smaller compared to the impact of rail overall. However, to give you a complete picture, I want to finish here by looking at our own value chain. For this, Siemens has defined three dimensions
- Portfolio: Innovate and further develop solutions to minimize the carbon footprint of mobility.
- Product: Enhance recyclability and increase the use of sustainable materials in our products.
- Footprint: Establish a sustainable footprint across our sites and supply chain to achieve carbon neutrality.
With strategic actions in all three areas, Siemens has been driving sustainability with a commitment to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain by 2050.
For example, we have seen great progress at all our locations such as at our Sacramento Rail Hub that is almost entirely powered by a 2-megawatt solar installation on site.
In closing, what is your key message for 2025?
In summary, our climate is urging us to act now and act quickly. With the wealth of digital and sustainable technologies available to us in the rail industry, the time has come to accelerate our journey toward a greener future.
2025 must be a year of delivering – the Earth is depending on us!