Abstract
The production and provision of railway infrastructure causes environmental impacts for several environmental indicators. The goal of this study is a single-score evaluation for environmental impacts of turnouts by calculating associated environmental costs. The methodology includes the life cycle assessment using the CML-IA baseline method to calculate mid-point indicators. Monetary valuation models are investigated as a basis for environmental pricing. Turnouts equipped with USP result in lower annual environmental costs (EC) of €429 than turnouts with conventional concrete sleepers (€495). Of the assessed impact categories, global warming potential (GWP) is responsible for the vast majority of EC with values from 87% to 97%. The main uncertainties lie within the emission factors to calculate mid-point indicators and the deviation within the environmental pricing schemes. Steel and concrete production, circular economy, use of alternative propulsion systems for track work machinery, and efficient maintenance strategies are major potentials for mitigation.
Highlights
Mitigation of environmental impacts is one of the main challenges faced by mankind
Associated emissions are transferred into mid-point indicators by classification and characterization using CML-IA baseline method
Concerning manufacturing of railway turnout components, ODP is only caused to a relevant level by the production of concrete sleepers
Summary
Mitigation of environmental impacts is one of the main challenges faced by mankind. Many global measures and policies have been issued to tackle the challenge. This includes the Kyoto Protocol (Maamoun, 2019), the Paris Agreement (Mitchell et al, 2018; United Nations, 2015) and Montreal Protocol (Goyal et al, 2019). The expectation is to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) within the mobility sector by 50% before 2050. Regarding mobility, these regulations often focus on burned fuel and power consumption based on direct and indirect emissions. These regulations often focus on burned fuel and power consumption based on direct and indirect emissions This covers rail operation whereas railway infrastructure is neglected
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