On 8 June 2015, the Energy Efficiency and CO2 Experts Network of UIC organised a Workshop on the Implementation of the TecRec 100_001 analysing the best practices, experiences and challenges for the assessment of the energy consumption of new rolling stock during the procurement process.
The workshop was moderated and supported by Roland Nolte, Managing Director of the Institute for Future Studies and Technology Assessment (IZT) based in Berlin, who participated in relevant rail and UIC related projects, such as EVENT, ARISCC and RailEnergy.
The Technical Recommendation 100_001 “Specification and verification of energy consumption for railway rolling stock” produced by UIC and UNIFE as an output of the RailEnergy Project is a voluntary standard for companies in the rail sector. The general purpose of this TecRec is to provide the framework to generate comparable energy performance values for trains and locomotives on a common basis and thereby support benchmarking and improvement of the energy efficiency of rail vehicles.
On Monday 8 June, more than 10 UIC member companies attended the workshop which took place at UIC Headquarters in Paris. The workshop presented an overview of the TecRec 100_001 and the existing application experiences as a basis for discussing the challenges for a further understanding and deployment of this standard in the rolling stock procurement process.
The participants discussed the challenges for rail companies in using the standard and the long-term advantages for the evaluation of rolling stock and reduction of energy consumption. The case studies from SBB and OBB were analysed in order to identify main procedures, indicators and requirements for the energy evaluation of new rolling stock.
Participants in the workshop exchanged opinions regarding the future worldwide and regional future trends on the topic, including the existing practices in other countries such as Japan. Another topic covered was the actual process of transforming the TecRec/Technical Specification in to the European standard EN 50591. The process has just started and will be continued over the next two years. Railway operators should participate with their energy experts in order to shape and improve the European standard.
As a final output of the workshop, IZT will produce some guidelines for the implementation of the TecRec 100_001 regarding the main requirements of rail companies.
