Rail transport is considered safer and more environmentally friendly than road transport. However, the increasing shift to e-mobility presents a new challenge: securing and further expanding the ecological advantages of rail in the long term. What role do life cycle thinking and the circular economy play in this? Christian Aichberger, sustainability expert at voestalpine Railway Systems, provides insights into how these topics are considered holistically and translated into concrete solutions.
It’s true, many people associate sustainability primarily with energy saving or CO2 reduction. However, it’s a very broad topic. In voestalpine Railway Systems’ systems approach, sustainability is the sum of various components.
For us, sustainability has three levels: the ecological, the social, and the economic. So we’re not just talking about environmental aspects, but also about social responsibility and economic viability. Because if solutions aren’t economically viable, for example, that also creates a problem.
As passengers, we usually only see the track. But a track system consists of many different components , such as sleepers, fastening systems, and a substructure . These components interlock and influence each other. The systems approach means: We don’t simply produce individual components and deliver them. We look at the entire system and first ask ourselves: What is the product used for? Where is it deployed? How can we optimize the system? Only then do we consider the individual production steps. Another important aspect for us is focusing on our customers and how we can best support them in real-world applications.
When the railway system functions optimally, it becomes more attractive for both passenger and freight transport. Several indirect effects also come into play for the system as a whole. There are fewer speed restrictions due to construction. This means the train has to brake and accelerate less, which in turn reduces energy consumption and the associated CO2 emissions . Reduced maintenance and repair work has similar effects. By making the system more efficient and reliable, we increase capacity and sustainability – even before we consider our own production processes.
Why is the life cycle approach so crucial in the railway industry?
Life Cycle Costs (LCC) play a central role in the railway sector. The goal is to optimize costs across the entire life cycle. In parallel, we consider environmental impacts using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This method evaluates the environmental performance of products and services along the entire value chain. Specifically, we look at: raw materials, energy consumption, in-house production processes, resource requirements, transport and installation, the usage phase, and end of life. The usage phase is particularly important. If a product lasts twice as long, emissions can be practically halved over that period because less new production is required.
It’s important to always keep in mind that a product with lower emissions isn’t automatically more sustainable to manufacture. If it fails prematurely, new production and disposal costs arise – including construction sites and downtime. Furthermore, we consider the end-of-life of a product right from the design stage. What materials do we use? What can be reused? This also optimizes the circular economy.
How does voestalpine Railway Systems implement the concept of reuse in practice?
A prime example of reuse is the Wörth switch plant in Lower Austria, a joint venture between voestalpine Railway Systems and ÖBB (Austrian Federal Railways). There, old switches are taken back from the main network, refurbished, tested, and usable components are reused on branch lines with lower traffic volumes. Here again, we see the importance of a systems approach. I have a railway network with both heavily and lightly trafficked sections. Especially in the lighter sections, the targeted reuse of suitable old switches instead of newly manufactured ones makes perfect sense.
What is the significance of the circular economy for sustainable railway systems?
The circular economy focuses on two key aspects. Firstly, the ecological aspect. A circular economy reduces the need for virgin materials. Steel, for example, can be remelted. This eliminates the CO2 – intensive production process for pig iron, which first has to be extracted from iron ore using coke.
On the other hand, the strategic aspect plays a role. Europe is not exactly a resource-rich region. With the exception of the Erzberg in Styria, ores are largely sourced from other continents. The more new material we produce, the more raw materials we need. This makes us more dependent on external sources. A certain proportion of new material will remain necessary in the future due to supply constraints. At the same time, however, functioning closed-loop systems will be crucial for increasing ecological benefits , reducing strategic risks , and creating a resilient raw material base for sustainable rail systems.
