in battle for sustainablity
funding not yet secured, he admits that there is still a way to go before the retrofit programme, and the benefits of LL brakes, will be completely realised.
In contrast, Unife’s Shift 2
Rail project, which is a joint technology initiative (JTI) between Europe’s leading rail manufacturers to develop sustainable technologies, has secured É165m from the European Commission. However, this is a fraction of the É800m in funds that the aviation industry’s Clean Skies JTI initiative has received, and up to É470m allocated to the HyWays JTI to develop hydrogen and fuel cell technology for road vehicles. Rail is also set to go head-to- head with its modal
competitors for $US 175bn in soft loans from a conglomerate of 10 development banks for sustainable transport projects over the next 10 years. The funding announcement was made at June’s Rio+ 20 summit, with the World Bank set to lead these efforts by providing $US 5bn per year. But with rail only receiving 20-25% of the World Bank’s available funding for transport projects in the past few years, it is set to be another tough fight.
Watershed moment?
The UIC is inevitably at the heart of this battle by offering both the platform in which sustainable ideas and best practices can be shared and acting as the collective voice of the industry’s top figureheads. The emergence of Russian Railways president Mr Vladimir Yakunin as a true champion of sustainability in Venice might then be a watershed moment for this segment of the industry. It might also indicate his vision for the future direction and work of the UIC. Yakunin is set to take over chairmanship in 2013, and his keynote address, which was widely praised by delegates, placed economic, social and
IRJ December 2012
environmental sustainability at the centre of what he described a “railway renaissance” currently taking place across the world. Yakunin said he believes that the environment is a key pillar in the future sustainable development of railways. He described work currently taking place in Russia to reduce greenhouse emissions by 35% by 2015 and 70% by 2030, and the fact that Russia has spent Roubles 3.9bn ($US 124.2m) on its environmental protection plan since 2003. He also cited the importance of innovation to realising these sustainable dreams.
“Innovation is the basis to
increasing the efficiency of railway operations and to promoting greater competition in the market,” Yakunin said. Kettner praised Yakunin’s sustainable vision and apparent willingness to lead from the front. He says that without support from the very top for sustainable projects, the enthusiasm and the belief of the people working on projects at the ground level, as was clearly on show in Venice, will not be realised.
“Sustainability is not only a question of business interests and competition,” Kettner says. “It is also a question for government. If we can balance that by encouraging government to provide incentives that support sustainable practices, which will then spur businesses to innovate and provide new solutions we will be in a win- win situation.”
Convincing governments to part with funding is of course a lot easier said than done. It often takes the persistence of a number of prominent and vocal top-level individuals to convince those holding the purse strings of the merits of a particular cause.
IRJ colleagues who attended the UIC’s Global Railfreight Conference in Tangier earlier this month commented that at that particular event a visionary and uniting
17
“Sustainability is not only a question of business interests and competition. It is also a question for government.” Joachim Kettner
figurehead was absent, which if the situation does not change, could in the long-term be of great detriment to the railfreight industry. The stage is set then for
Yakunin to make a big impact as chairman of the UIC. Indeed it would be very surprising if in his new role he does not adapt his argument that rail is the means to bring Russia closer to the economies of the west, to make a similar
case in a global context. And in the competitive, dog-eat- dog fight that continues with road and aviation to secure funding for certain projects, influential and visionary leadership might be exactly what rail needs. IRJ
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