Among the outlined initiatives to promote the circular economy in the railway, the ‘REUSE Report’ stands out, a project of the International Union of Railways (UIC). It is a document in which the association takes stock of sustainable resource management practices in the European railway to provide a selection of proven approaches and strategies that improve outcomes.
The context under which the report is drawn up is the foreseeable future scarcity of natural resources needed for railway undertakings, as well as the increase in their prices, which may change traditional business models and require new systems to manage waste, waste streams, end-of-life materials, and emissions.
Not surprisingly, if by 2017 a global use of natural raw material resources of almost 90 billion tons was expected, everything indicates that this figure could double before 2050. As indicated by the UIC itself, this increase is marked by population growth and consumption trends, with a shift in demand from renewable to non-renewable resources, towards new technologies, urban growth, and industrialism.
In this context, REUSE aims to provide an inventory of practices related to the sustainable use of resources and the circular economy, in order to:
• Help them anticipate future shortages and price increases that could be very costly for railway companies.
• Reduce the environmental impact of industrial railway activities, reducing waste and pollution.
The 2-year project included a working group in which knowledge was shared in this regard, as well as research on circularity practices in railways. The final result was presented in an interactive webinar (15th April 2021), and it includes a final report. During the seminar on circular economy practices in the sector, some 80 representatives (project partners, circular economy experts from the UIC, sustainability directors, external stakeholders) from 19 railway sector stakeholders based in 35 different countries around the world were brought together. The discussions provided an additional source of information that was included to complete the final report.
The final report, entitled ‘REUSE: Circular practices in the railway and ways forward’, is a user-friendly reference guide for UIC members that allows them to better understand circular economy concepts and strategies. Among other aspects, this guide to good practices captures cost savings and innovative applications of circular economy principles to studies of real-life and proven cases in the European railway. The report also highlights lessons and good practices that can be found in other sectors and modes of transport.
One of the main points that REUSE emphasises is that, in terms of mobility sustainability, railway always tends to be compared to road, aviation and maritime transport and that studies focus on the environmental cost of moving people and resources from point A to B (i.e., air quality, CO2 emissions, noise, water pollution…). “However, it is important not to ignore the impact of the underlying infrastructure construction and renovation activities due to the large amount of material used. Most emissions occur during the production of materials and therefore it is necessary to adopt a life cycle perspective to assess emissions from transport infrastructures,” the document explains.
Reuse Report:
Circular Economy applied to the railway sector
“REUSE emphasises that sustainability in transport goes beyond mobility itself; the impact of infrastructure construction and renewal activities also comes into play”
Good practices for the recycling of railway components
Based on the studies carried out, REUSE determines that the best practices of circular economy and recycling in the railway sector can be classified into four categories: material processing logistics; reuse and recycling for the main group of railway materials (ballast, sleepers, rails, and needles); rolling stock; and support materials (computer equipment, fluids, or clothing).
Materials for the tracks. Reuse and recycling for the main group of railway materials
This section includes best practices in the recycling and reuse of three major railway components.
• Ballast. Some of the ideas contained in the report, such as this one from DB, explain that “the ballast can be recycled and returned to the existing track network. Grains that cannot be reused are sorted and sold to be recycled elsewhere, for example as an aggregate in road construction.
• Sleepers. Among the examples of good practice, REUSE highlights the idea of TRAFIKVERKET, who “has obtained positive results from its process of acquiring sleepers ‘Design, Bid, Build’. One case study included a procurement covering 400,000 sleepers a year. A clause in the tender called for a 20% reduction in emissions over the period 2018-2022, and although it did not explicitly indicate how the target should be achieved, it clearly established the requirement to use the LCA methodology. Preliminary results show a 26% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 14% reduction in costs. Following this good practice, all new projects with a budget of more than €5 million call for an 18% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to traditionally produced sleepers.”
Rolling material
This is an element that, at first, was not addressed in the initial questionnaire of the project. However, the reuse and recycling of rolling stock was exposed by the participants as an important piece to achieve the objectives of circularity.
In addition to good practices such as sustainable procurement and improved product quality, interviewees pointed to another possible environmentally friendly approach: the dismantling and sale of all or certain parts of ageing rolling stock that is no longer suitable for renovation.
Material processing logistics
At this point, as specified in the report, it was important to establish as clear a division as possible between the concepts of reuse and recycling. Interviewees and participants argued that, although they knew well the fundamental differences from a theoretical point of view, in practice it is difficult to distinguish between the two. However, it is important to differentiate since “a completely different set of rules must be taken into account in the event that materials are recycled in some way or reused”. In this respect, and since the materials must be inspected in detail, tested and, finally, assessed by experts, it must be verified that, even after the transformation, the materials are of the same quality as the initial raw materials. In this sense, the centralised collection of waste turns out to be an example of good practices.
Among the ideas highlighted in this section, these stand out:
• On the one hand, PRORAIL, which indicated “that it would be a good idea to have a common European market, especially for the smallest and most expensive specialised parts. Because as some elements are not standardised, even a small technical detail can make them incompatible and, therefore, unfit to be exchanged between countries.”
• Meanwhile, SNCF RESEAU raised the issue of the organisation of construction and reconstruction in terms of location. Since transport is a contributing factor to both costs and environmental footprint, the centralised approach must be carefully planned during the design phases. It is necessary to carry out an inventory of the potentially reusable products in the donor project and, at the same time, identify the recipient projects that are close both geographically and temporarily.”
Support materials (computer equipment, fluids, or clothing)
We are not wrong to state that railway companies are generally large organisations. Consequently, any action taken translates into an environmental benefit. In this sense, the participants in REUSE mentioned plastic as the most outstanding material. “The challenge of limiting the use of disposable plastics was particularly highlighted. Among the good practices worth mentioning are the request to purchase cleaning products with returnable containers, the replacement of water dispensers by drinking water sources, etc.
Another particularly important way to reduce single-use plastics is the abandonment of trilaminated banknotes. Irish Rail, for example, reported environmental savings of 5,319 kg of CO2 and cost savings of €70,000 per year with no impact on performance,” the report explains.