Assessment and Recommendations for a Fossil Free Future for Track Work Machinery

Martina Zeiner, Matthias Landgraf, Dieter Knabl, Bernhard Antony, Víctor Barrena Cárdenas and Christian Koczwara
Additional contact information
Martina Zeiner: Institute of Railway Engineering and Transport Economy, Graz University of Technology, Rechbauerstraße 12, 8010 Graz, Austria
Matthias Landgraf: Institute of Railway Engineering and Transport Economy, Graz University of Technology, Rechbauerstraße 12, 8010 Graz, Austria
Dieter Knabl: Institute of Railway Engineering and Transport Economy, Graz University of Technology, Rechbauerstraße 12, 8010 Graz, Austria
Bernhard Antony: Plasser & Theurer, Johannesgasse 3, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Víctor Barrena Cárdenas: Plasser & Theurer, Johannesgasse 3, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Christian Koczwara: Plasser & Theurer, Pummererstraße 5, 4021 Linz, Austria

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-23

Abstract: Current railway track work machinery is mainly operated with diesel fuel. As a result, track maintenance of Austrian Federal Railways (OeBB) amounts to nearly 9000 t CO 2 equivalent per year according to calculations from Graz University of Technology. OeBB’s total length of railway lines only accounts for 0.56% of the world’s length of lines. This indicates huge potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions considering the need for track maintenance worldwide. Environmental concerns have led to the introduction of alternative drives in the transport sector. Until now, R&D (Research & Development) of alternative propulsion technologies for track work machinery has been widely neglected. This paper examines the possibility of achieving zero direct emissions during maintenance and construction work in railways by switching to alternative drives. The goal is to analyze alternative propulsion solutions arising from the transport sector and to assess their applicability to track work machinery. Research results, together with a calculation tool, show that available battery technology is recommendable for energy demands lower than 300 kWh per construction shift. Hydrogen fuel cell technology is an alternative for energy demands higher than 800 kWh. For machinery with energy requirements in between, enhancements in battery technology are necessary and desirable for the coming years.

Keywords: track work machinery; sustainable track maintenance; alternative propulsion technologies in transport; zero direct emissions in track work machinery; green energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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