Rail & Road

The Decarbonisation of Rail Freight at RSN 2025

Published

2 weeks ago

July 4, 2025

In 2025, decarbonisation is the biggest talking point within any single industry you could name. All over the globe, products from Pringles, all the way to Persil, are being changed in the name of net-zero.

But when it comes to the rail industry, it’s not quite as simple as cardboard packaging. No, there are decades-old systems in place, fuels we’ve relied on for a century, efficiency born from years of refinement. Yet we live in a time when electric trains are bought and sold every day, systems are upgraded to remove unnecessary pollutants, and power is slowly shifting towards a greener future.

However, even with the great strides the rail industry has made to reduce its overall carbon footprint, another question remains: how can we decarbonise the freight sector? With its intense loads, long journeys and ever-changing landscape, the sector needs to begin to transition away from fossil fuels. But how?

At Rolling Stock Networking 2025 in Derby, Paul Long, Head of Engineering at Freightliner, discussed some of the difficulties the company is experiencing in the race to true decarbonisation.

Laying out Freightliner’s current lineup of locomotives, it’s clear that the company is attempting to transition to cleaner energy where possible. Of the 160 offerings, 26 Class 90 hybrid locomotives perform a number of rail operations throughout the week, operating primarily on the Great Eastern Mainline (GEML) to and from Ipswich, as well as the West Coast Mainline (WCML).

So, what’s holding the company back from expanding and replacing a large portion of their fleet with a more energy efficient alternative? The problems, it would seem, come from several different angles including cost, feasibility and true efficiency.

Paul claims that in the current climate, a new locomotive will run a company somewhere between five and eight and a half million GBP, and to replace the entire fleet, it would cost in the region of one billion GBP, depending on the technology required on board. Not an insignificant amount of money.

Paul also mentions that a large number of the locomotives currently in use are only a small way into their lifecycle, and with several of Freightliner’s units still fit for operation for at least another 24 years, it creates a situation in which freight operators may well be scrapping locomotives long before necessary.

Moving onto the subject of alternative fuels, Paul states that there are four main options that would currently be considered for replacing the estimated 150 million litres of diesel burned by the freight sector per year: low carbon alternative fuels, electrification, battery technology and hydrogen.

As an industry sector that, as stated by Paul himself, has almost literally built itself around the use of diesel with its large, heavy locomotives, the task of moving wholesale to a new fuel source will always come with some very hefty pros and cons.

First presenting the case for and against the use of low carbon fuels (HVO, GD+, eFuels, Synthetic fuels), Paul notes that whilst it would be the easiest solution to implement by far, it would also come with a significant cost not only in a monetary sense, but also in air quality, as well as pose a number of questions as to the origin of the fuels themselves, which Paul states can, at times, be hard to truly trace back to source.

Another issue is the supply chain, as Paul notes that whilst there are companies such as Zero Petroleum producing alternative fuel via the use of solar power, plants currently under development will only, initially, be capable of producing up to and around one million litres of diesel per year, which will require the construction of at least 150 plants for freight alone.

The four most considered alternative power sources

Moving onto electrification, proceedings turn to the question of infrastructure. Whilst Paul confirms that there have been large strides to electrify roughly a third of the rail network across the UK, many of these upgrades have not been taking freight into account, leaving them, currently, both unsuitable for heavy-duty operations and incapable of increasing capacity to include such movement, thus requiring huge investments into infrastructure each year until 2050 in order to provide the network with the necessary requirements.

As for battery technology, things certainly seem a lot more hopeful. With a lack of harmful emissions and the speed of the technology’s overall current development, battery power is almost a front runner for the industry’s conundrum, however, as with the rest of the alternatives, there are a few snags. The amount of batteries required to run a locomotive required to pull a freight service can, according to Paul, hover around 150, which then also poses questions of a fast charging infrastructure and, again, astronomical cost.

Things are much the same for hydrogen, which comes with the benefits of extremely low emissions and guaranteed government initiatives aiding its adoption, but also with issues relating to the volume of hydrogen required, the implementation of a dedicated fuelling infrastructure and the risks of carrying high pressure (700 bar) tanks with each service.

So, as Paul jokes, ‘all of these technologies are terrible because none of them are diesel’. However, Paul immediately moves on to say that this kind of industry shift has very much happened before, and it is not an impossibility, citing the move from steam engines to diesel in the first place, but whilst Freightliner will see massive social benefits from the move to a sustainable technology, financial value will not follow fast.

One more admittedly surprising solution for Freightliner comes not in the form of rail but, in fact, road. The company, and the sector as a whole, has now begun to invest in road-haulage services as the technology moves along at a faster and more economically-viable rate.

Charging points are becoming more commonplace, running costs are lower and each vehicle can last around 10-15 years, however, once again, nothing is truly ‘the perfect answer’. Paul claims that purchase prices are 45% higher, ‘fuelling’ times are longer which coupled with lower ranges means more headaches and a whole new skillset it required.

Above all, one thing is made very clear: in order for rail freight to achieve true decarbonisation, there has got to be a seismic shift in the way things are handled. Decarbonisation is not a ‘nice to have’, it is a must. ‘Small tweaks’, as Paul puts them, will not be the solution to the problems the sector faces in the years to come, and with time ticking, real change will have to come real fast.

Products & Services

Source link

Up Next

U.S. Rail Merger Talks Heat Up as Investors Seek Paths to Class I Consolidation: What You Need To Know

Don't Miss

Railway Axlebox Housing Market

Joey Stoate

Rail & Road

How AI Is Transforming Rail Field Data Collection

Published

36 minutes ago

July 18, 2025

malika

Esri’s Survey 123 Smart Assistant Delivers Simplicity and Speed

AI-powered tools like the Survey 123 Smart Assistant are making data collection easier, faster and more accurate for the rail sector, writes Erik Henderson, Director, Rail Industry Solutions at Esri.

In early April, while at IMGIS in Frankfurt, I saw a demonstration of Esri’s artificial intelligence (AI) tools, which have been developed to help users create, as well as analyse, the results from their ArcGIS Survey 123 projects.

Survey 123 is Esri’s mobile tool, designed for users to quickly create and deploy a field-based questionnaire on virtually anything they’d like to collect. What surprised me the most about the demonstration’s creation process and resulting survey were both the speed with which the project was created and the comprehensiveness of the questions.

While tools like AI and machine learning (ML) are revolutionising how many people do their jobs, there’s still some hesitation or scepticism around their implementation. There has always been a gap between what I would call the business user, or the railroaders, and the technologists working to create better, faster and safer tools.

That gap falls in two areas, the first being users’ ability to fully understand all of the possible solutions the market has available to them. Think about hanging a picture on the wall and all of the possible ways to do so. Now, imagine walking into a big box hardware store for the first time and only needing to hang that one picture. It can be pretty intimidating to know where to go, who to talk to and how to evaluate all of your options.

The second gap is for the technology experts to be able to understand the potential simplicity of a business problem. Imagine you ask a world-class mechanic who designs and builds race cars how to make a car go faster. The mechanic will probably start explaining the dynamics of quality fuel, and a finely tuned set of spark plugs and cylinders to power the engine, but perhaps you simply weren’t sure which pedal was for accelerating and which was for the brake. With technology advancing at an exponential rate, this gap is increasing as well.

Smarter Tools, Stronger Surveys

Companies like Esri are using AI to make the implementation of technology even easier. The Survey 123 Assistant (Beta) is a perfect example of this. While I wouldn’t consider the process of creating a survey to be extremely advanced, there are many options a user can choose to make a survey much more complex if they wish.

In the past, a user would need to fully understand all of these forms and functions to get the most out of the tools. For a complex survey to be created, you’d need the right combination of an end user who understands what type of content they are looking for and a highly skilled technician familiar with all of the tool’s functions. You may also need a business analyst documenting requirements based on how your organisation was set up to handle technology requests.

With the new Survey 123 Smart Assistant, a user can take advantage of the AI tools for a variety of gains. Here are some of the key benefits it offers:

Enhanced Data Accuracy: The Smart Assistant uses AI and ML to validate and refine responses as they’re entered. It can flag inconsistent or improbable answers, suggest corrections and guide users to input more accurate information based on prior data or expected patterns. A photograph of a switch taken on a mobile device in the field can prompt users for specific attributes that would only be available for a switch.
Time Efficiency and Workflow Optimisation: Esri’s Smart Assistant reduces the need for manual input by auto-filling answers based on historical data, user behaviour or integration with other GIS. This leads to faster survey completion and less repetitive work for field staff.
Improved User Experience: Whether the user is a seasoned GIS professional or a first-time railroader, the Smart Assistant simplifies survey navigation. It can explain complex fields, help avoid errors and provide real-time feedback, lowering the barrier for data collection and minimising training time.
Data Consistency and Standardisation: The assistant also ensures data is collected consistently across all users and surveys. This is crucial for large organisations managing extensive datasets where discrepancies can compromise analysis and decision-making.
Integration with the ArcGIS Ecosystem: Survey123 Smart Assistant works seamlessly with other ArcGIS tools such as ArcGIS Dashboards, ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro, allowing for real-time visualisation, spatial analysis and reporting. The intelligent inputs improve the quality and utility of data throughout the entire GIS workflow.

AI adoption is growing rapidly and while adopting it can be intimidating at first, using it to build your surveys can help you jumpstart your team’s success with Survey.

For additional help and resources, please check out our ArcGIS Survey 123 Overview and/or our video on how to create a survey with Smart Assistant.

To stay informed of the latest GIS advancements for rail, you can also join our mailing list or contact us at [email protected].

This article first appeared in the Railway-News Magazine Issue 2 2025. Download a PDF version here.

Products & Services

Source link

Rail & Road

Why US, China railway industries want collaboration fast-tracked

Published

3 hours ago

July 18, 2025

Carol Yang

Rail-transport companies from China and the US remain committed to strengthening cooperation – including on projects in third-country markets – even as a trade rivalry between the two largest economies chugs along.

With the US being a long-time leader in freight rail and urban transit, and China having emerged as a global powerhouse in high-speed rail, the two sides could deepen cooperation in the rail-transport sector, said Everett Wakai, minister counsellor for commercial affairs at the US embassy in Beijing.

He spoke during the US-China Rail Transit Industry Roundtable on Friday at the China International Supply Chain Expo. Representatives from some US companies with ties to the rail sector were there. A key talking point was the potential for supply-chain cooperation.

Guan Jiaxin, vice-president of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, said the state-owned giant cooperates extensively with US companies when it comes to equipment.

“Major projects and markets led by our company are widely using construction machinery from Caterpillar and generators from Cummins,” Guan said during the round-table chat. Caterpillar and Cummins were two of the American firms in attendance.

“We look forward to exploring more cooperation opportunities with the US in overseas projects investment, building and operating, such as joint financing, design and consulting … in markets where US firms have a strong presence, such as Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe,” he said.

01:00

Shanghai metro passengers evacuated after train malfunctions

Source link

Rail & Road

South Eastern Railway opens new careers and skills hub

Published

5 hours ago

July 18, 2025

Andrei Dumitru

South Eastern Railway has launched a new careers and skills hub in Ashford, marking a major step in its ambition to build a modern, inclusive, and skilled rail workforce. The new facility, named Connect 38, was officially opened on 11 July by Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy and is located within walking distance of Ashford International railway station.

The hub brings together recruitment, professional development, and digital learning under one roof, offering a dynamic environment for new starters and existing staff to develop their careers. The initiative forms part of South Eastern Railway’s broader commitment to workforce development, social mobility, and long-term sector resilience.

Responding to surging interest in rail careers

Interest in careers at South Eastern Railway has increased sharply in recent years, with over 30,000 job applications submitted in the past 12 months—more than double the number received the previous year. Connect 38 aims to meet this demand by more than doubling the company’s recruitment and training capacity and offering a range of targeted career pathways for school leavers, career-changers, and veterans.

The launch coincided with South Eastern Railway being ranked 24th in the Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers for 2025—up 34 places from the previous year. It is the highest ranking achieved by any transport or rail company on the list.

A strategic investment in people and skills

Connect 38 will support hundreds of apprentices across roles including train driving, engineering, customer service, and digital skills. A dedicated digital media suite will also allow colleagues to create professional video content for learning and internal communication.

Speaking at the opening, Rail Minister Lord Hendy said:

“Under public ownership, South Eastern Railway is making real changes that not only improve the lives of passengers but staff and local communities too.
This is exactly what we want to see operators doing—offering skills and training to ensure their workforce is open to everyone, from school-leavers to career-changers to veterans.
Through this investment, we will see more and more skilled, rewarding careers in the rail industry open up as Connect 38 breaks down barriers to opportunity, drives economic growth and supports the Government’s Plan for Change.”

Supporting an integrated, future-ready railway

The initiative is part of the new integrated railway structure that brings together Southeastern (the publicly owned train operator) and Network Rail Kent Route under a single leadership team. Managing Director Steve White emphasised the strategic importance of the investment:

“The railway does more than connect people and places. It unlocks opportunity, supports housing, enables social mobility and helps communities thrive. What we do matters!
In the last year alone, we have seen a huge increase in interest from people wanting to build a career with us with over 30,000 applicants. We are also committed to developing our own people.
This new facility, located at the heart of our network, demonstrates that our new integrated railway will invest in our people, as well as our infrastructure.
Whether someone is joining us for the first time, retraining, or progressing in their career, this centre will give them the skills and support they need to succeed and to support our customers.”

Focus on inclusion and social value

The facility not only supports technical skills and professional development but also celebrates the contributions of past and present railway colleagues. Rooms at Connect 38 have been named after notable figures who played key roles in the industry’s history, including Barbara Ann Denny, the network’s first female train driver, and Asquith Xavier, who broke racial barriers in British transport.

Neil Robertson, Chief Executive of the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR), welcomed the investment:

“Southeastern were one of the first operators to embrace apprenticeships and have always taken training very seriously. This is an exciting new opportunity. Knowing them as we do, we expect to see strong social value created alongside the development of new skills.
With a wide range of jobs available across the rail industry, initiatives like this help to strengthen routes into rail and ensure the sector attracts the talent it needs for the future.”

Aligning with government skills agenda

The Connect 38 hub directly supports the government’s ambition to grow skills and create economic opportunity. It provides career guidance, digital learning tools, and comprehensive training for new recruits and existing employees across a wide spectrum of rail-related roles.

South Eastern Railway currently supports over 500 apprentices and holds Gold Accreditation from Investors in People for its work in supporting wellbeing, people development, and apprenticeships.

Share on:

Source link