Railways and Environment

Our modern civilizations are increasingly conscious of the downside of technical progress as regards the quality of life, given the potential damage to the environment. In recent years growing concern has been expressed about the adverse impact of current forms of economic activity upon the natural environment with global warming and climate change forming a particular worry. Transport is often quoted in this connection. This reflects the fact that in many countries' transport activity is growing faster than the economy overall, whilst the transport sectors which are growing most rapidly (notable the road and air sectors) depend almost entirely upon liquid fossil fuels.

Most countries have started already taking actions to change the existing trend of development within their transport sector. And in many cases such a readjustment of transport policy has resulted in exploiting the potential of the rail sector more effectively.

What are the characteristics of rail transport which form the basis for the claim that it creates less environmental impact those other modes? In the first place, its energy performance is significantly better, in France, for example, rail performs 23 per cent of freight transport and 7 per cent of passenger transport but it is responsible for only 4 per cent of the energy consumed by the transport sector. This energy efficiency stems from a basic feature of railway technology - the low rolling resistance of steel wheel on steel rail. Historically this characteristic necessitated heavy investment in earthworks and tunnels to achieve an acceptable gradient profile; today, this inheritance of a profile, which smoothes the terrain, contributes further to reducing the consumption of energy.

Equipping the railway to operate with electric traction builds upon these advantages. There are three key features of an electric railway which underpin the claim that it is a form of mechanized transport with the lowest adverse environmental impact:

-The ability to utilize all primary resources of energy, particularly renewable forms, such as hydro-electricity;

-The ability to recover part of energy normally lost in braking through the use of regenerative brakes;

-The absence of any local air pollution in urban areas, even where the primary sourсе of electricity is fossil fuels.

A further distinctive feature of railways is their dedicated right-of-way. Permitting fast operation through the heart of densely built-up urban areas, it also represents a much more effective use of space that the road alternative. Thus a double -track railway occupies half the area of 2x2 motorway, whilst a suburban railway with suitable signalling can convey 50,000 passengers per hour per direction.

At a strategic level rail enjoys significant advantages over its road and air rivals in terms of the emission of green house gases. In comparison with a high-speed train such as the ICE a private car emits eight times more carbon monoxide and 4.6 times more carbon dioxide for the same number of passenger-kilometers.

This makes it crucial that the perception of these advantages is not undermined by adverse impacts upon the local environments. Potentially the most serious is noise, together with fumes and smoke where diesel traction is predominant. In addition, railway managers must strive to ensure that the many chemicals used in operation of a railway do not have an adverse impact.

The elimination of steam traction and the replacement of jointed track with welded rails have resulted in a significant reduction in the noise created by railway operations particularly in urban areas. However, growing personal wealth has led to an increasing sensitivity to intangible aspects, which together contribute to the perception of the quality of life. In many countries the nuisance perceived from the noise of railway operations has become a political issue, creating pressure for regulations, which require the construction of abatement measures such as barriers and the installation of double glazing.

Cost-benefit studies have indicated that it may well be more cost-effective to adopt measures to reduce noise pollution, particularly from freight trains. Germany and Switzerland have taken the lead in Europe, initiating a programmer to fit brake with blocks of composite material, which yield a substantial reduction in rolling noise. Their fellow members in the Community of European Railways (CF.R) have now made a commitment to follow their lead: adaptation of the rules for the operation ні wagons with such brakes in international traffic is in hand. Further reductions can be expected when the current research projects such as 'Eurosabot', 'Silent Rail', 'Silent Freight', and 'Low Noise Train' have been completed and their conclusions applied in the design principles for the next generation of freight wagons.

Effective management of the many chemicals employed in the operation of a railway is essential to avoid pollution incidents. This is best achieved by the integration of environmental objectives within the overall responsibilities of the line manager, implementation of an environmental management system being increasingly the norm.

This is of vital importance for Ukrainian Railways, and perhaps even more taking into account our environmental backing. Summing, it is worth mentioning that rail is already the environmentally cleanest mode of transport. The attractiveness of rail can be increased further if the management focuses more closely on the environmental aspect. At the same lime, however, it is necessary to improve the environmental acceptability of rail vehicles by further measures relating to development, production, and operation.