04.04.2024

The railway industry in Europe needs urgent adaptations to climate change

Climate change is increasingly becoming a major challenge for rail transport. Storms, snowfall, floods and fires are putting railway networks to the test across Europe, writes euronews.com.

In Austria alone, Railjets and other ÖBB trains were forced to stop 1900 times in 2023 due to weather conditions, according to Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung.

Never in recent years have we had so many canceled trains due to storms as last August," ÖBB spokesman Bernhard Rieder told the Austrian press. "Flooding in Tyrol and Salzburg alone and massive mudslides following thunderstorms led to 716 unplanned shutdowns due to the weather."

He adds that rising temperatures in the alpine region lead to an increase in embankments and forest fires, distortion of tracks and reduction of protective forests due to heat stress.

In the UK, a government adviser has warned that travel disruption will be worsened by climate change unless the country's rail network receives more funding. Speaking in August, Sir John Armitt said heavy rainfall had affected train travel with flash floods and landslides.

Martin Frobisher, director of group safety and engineering at Network Rail, also blamed climate change for the travel chaos.

We are definitely seeing the impact of climate change. It's happening now, it's real and it's having a significant impact," he told Britain's Financial Times newspaper.

The company, which owns and operates most of the UK's rail infrastructure, also added a message to its website warning that "more frequent and more extreme weather caused by climate change will affect our ability to run the railway safely and on time.

Heatwaves are also responsible for mass train cancellations, due to problems such as warped tracks and downed overhead power lines. They are designed to withstand a certain range of temperatures, but can warp in very hot conditions. The heat can also cause overhead power lines to sag and equipment to snag on the train.

How is the rail industry adapting to a warming planet?

In Austria, overhead power lines are being retrofitted to prevent overheating. In addition, the rails are made more heat resistant by applying white paint. Slopes with a risk of slipping are being monitored even more closely and weather monitoring is also being expanded.

In the UK, more funding has been invested in drainage and remote track temperature monitoring technology is being introduced. Following the death of three people in August 2020 when a train collided with a landslide in Aberdeenshire, Network Rail has developed new software to predict sudden torrential downpours.

The company's operations center in Cardiff has thermal sensors and cameras to monitor rail conditions in the region. While this will not address service disruptions, it does mean that safety can be improved by introducing speed limits and calling in maintenance crews.

Network Rail also announced that it has committed £2,8 billion (€3,2 billion) to climate change adaptation of the UK's rail infrastructure between 2024 and 2029. Much of the network still uses Victorian-era structures , which cannot withstand the effects of extreme weather.

Large parts of the rail network continue to depend on structures, buildings and earthworks that were installed when the railway was originally built between 1850 and 1920," the organization said in a 2023 report. "An increasing number of these assets are reaching 'end of life' and are exposed to changing weather conditions that increase defects, damage and weather-related disruptions to passengers and cargo users”.

The funding will be invested in restoring thousands of kilometers of drains, cuts and embankments to make them more resilient to extreme weather conditions such as floods or landslides. Key members of staff at the company will attend its new "meteorological academy" where they will become "amateur meteorologists". The program will teach staff how to analyze weather forecasts and make better operational decisions.

Europe's 'three-bridge' trains that could revolutionize rail transport

The rail industry is also turning its attention to the root of the problem and working to reduce its impact on global warming. The Italian company Hitachi Rail has developed an innovative train with three bridges.

The Masaccio locomotive can be powered in three ways: via overhead power lines, via a diesel hybrid engine or via a battery. The revolutionary battery can be charged when the train is powered by electricity from the overhead lines. It can also use the braking energy from stopping the train.

This planet-friendly battery can power the train, without the need for diesel, for short sections of the line where there are gaps in electrification. It is also used during the approach and departure from the stations to the train, it does not contribute to noise or air pollution in the city.

The trains are tested in a purpose-built climate chamber that simulates temperatures from -50 to +40C to ensure they can withstand the extreme climates of the future.