From January 1, 2025, SBB trains will run on traction current that comes 100 percent from renewable sources. As before, most of this will be electricity from hydropower, the rest will be renewable electricity that SBB purchases on the market. The switch to 100 percent renewable traction current is part of SBB’s sustainability strategy.
From January 1, 2025, SBB customers will be able to travel in an even more environmentally friendly way than before. From then on, SBB trains will run on traction current that comes entirely from renewable sources and is certified with the appropriate proof of origin.
To date, around 90 percent of the railway’s electricity has been generated from hydropower, with the remaining 10 percent coming from a nuclear power investment in the 1970s. SBB no longer uses the electricity from this investment for rail operations, but sells it on the electricity market. At the same time, it purchases the corresponding amount of renewable electricity from Switzerland and the rest of Europe on the market.
Travelling by train has always been environmentally friendly: the train is – alongside slow transport – the most climate-friendly means of transport. Travelling by train causes only 0.3 percent of the CO2 emissions of all transport in Switzerland. For 17 percent of passenger transport and 38 percent of freight transport, the railway requires only 5 percent of the energy used by land transport in Switzerland.
The switch to 100 percent renewable traction power is part of SBB’s sustainability strategy. SBB’s goal is to make a contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement and to halve operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2018. SBB aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 90 percent by 2040. To achieve these goals, SBB is saving energy, relying on renewable energies and the circular economy, and replacing climate-damaging technical gases with more climate-friendly alternatives such as more environmentally friendly refrigerants for air conditioning trains.
When electricity is produced, so-called guarantees of origin are generated, which guarantee the origin of the electricity generated and are later used for electricity labeling. The main purpose of the guarantees of origin is to create transparency for end users and customers. From 2025, all traction current used to operate the Swiss railway system will have guarantees of origin for renewable electricity.
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