Agenda Day One
Rail Net Zero Summit

• How do you move from strategy to action with a clear line of sight back to your end customer, putting passengers and freight users first
• Taking strategy into operational action, aligning cost benefits with key sustainability pillars required to deliver business case of change that delivers on all fronts
• With challenges to reduce cost and find efficiencies, how do we create the space for senior leadership to create new solutions to drive us towards net zero
• The art of the possible, benefits and rewards of focusing time and resources on the quick wins rather than obsessing about the big challenges
• Using AI to bring together information and present it in standardized business case format that that gives clarity and defines the key change aspects of the project

• Transitioning to a changing climate, building resilience to the impacts of weather and climate change, creating transition plans that combine decarbonisation goals and climate resilience
• Challenges for train operators in determining strategies for climate adaption, managing the physical risks to train operations and ensuring your infrastructure owner is addressing those risk
• Climate adaptive infrastructure, how do we adapt our infrastructure to keep up with the current changes in climate change and the climate projections in 20 years
• Setting standards on climate and whether risk assessments, how can the industry unpack all the data to deliver a comprehensive strategy moving forward

​

• The presentation will cover the findings of the study showing that investing in rail freight not only supports decarbonisation but also offers long-term socio-economic returns, contributing to competitiveness
• The study outlines strategic measures and investment needs, reinforcing rail’s position as the backbone of sustainable logistics

• What is the current investment strategy for procuring new energy efficient rolling stock to meet net zero commitments and future passenger demand
• Electrifying and buying battery trains in the UK, who makes the call
• What strategies is the rail industry implementing to deliver investments and accelerate the decarbonization of diesel rolling stock still in operation
• What are the policy and commercial challenges that are stopping us moving forward
• Modelling for success, what models are rolling stock operators and franchise using to determine investments in alternative fuels and drives, battery trains, electrification or hydrogen?
• How are freight operators making contingency plans on renewing their freight locomotives without knowing which routes will be electrified, the rise of the multi-mode locomotive
• What is the strategy for decommissioning traction for passenger, freight, engineering trains and seasonal fleets, how do we re-use the materials in a secondary aggregate market or back into rail

• The evolution of batter technology for rolling stock fleets, and maintenance vehicles
• How are operators optimising waste requirements schemes and circularity when decommissioning the diesel trains still in operations
• Examining the alternatives for freight operators, what are the cost of investing in hybrid batter and fuel locomotives freight locomotives and engineering trains
• Considering the requirements for your charging infrastructure for your new batter trains
• Advancements in rechargeable and long-life batteries for long-distance passenger rolling stock trials

• DB Cargo's positioning: Where does DB Cargo stand today in terms of the use of alternative fuels? What role do alternative drive systems, HVO and e-fuels play in permanently reducing CO₂e emissions?
• What specific approaches is DB Cargo already implementing to achieve its own climate targets?
• Practical implementation in rail operations: What pilot projects and practical experience has DB Cargo gained with alternative drive systems and fuels, such as HVO (Focus), hybrid locomotives or batteries
• What lessons can be learned from this for widespread use in freight transport?
• Future and outlook for sustainable solutions: What technical innovations are necessary to further reduce CO₂ emissions in freight transport in the long term?
• Outlook on the role of hydrogen, synthetic e-fuels, new battery technologies and other future solutions

​

• Introduction to the newly launched Greener Railway Strategy, challenging the myths on the cost of delivering sustainability in rail
• Evolution from the 5-year blueprint to present, whole-life costing and real world case studies on low-emission materials
• Internal vs external stakeholder engagement, navigating resistance internally and across the supply chain
• Aligning with Great British Railways and the Sustainable Rail Blueprint to develop a long-term vision on building a resilient net zero rail network

As climate-related hazards intensify, the use of 3D data is emerging as a key lever for infrastructure managers to build resilience. From optimizing the purchase and reuse of raw materials like ballast, to enabling precise and localized tree pruning through predictive modeling of tree falls and detecting land use changes to simulate climate impacts on infrastructure — Altametris is paving the way.
This session will decode and analyze real-world applications already in production at scale within SNCF Réseau. With over 100,000 kilometers of infrastructure analyzed annually, the Altametris Suite empowers maintenance teams to visualize, simulate, and prioritize actions for smarter, targeted, and climate-resilient maintenance

Making the railways more accessible and inclusive is critical to the sustainability agenda so that more people can use it, compared with more carbon-emitting modes. Disabled people make 38% fewer journeys than non-disabled people. Improving accessibility across the rail network also has the potential to generate wider benefits to a broad set of current and potential future users of the rail network – disabled people, an ageing population, those with temporary impairments, non-disabled people carrying luggage or travelling with children, and freight operators seeking more seamless intermodal travel

• Making the legal, reputational and business case for accessibility and inclusion in the railways
• Understanding Great British Railways’ Accessibility Roadmap and the link to wider rail reform
• Exploring opportunities and overcoming the challenges that operators and infrastructure owners face

​

• Understanding the challenges of integrating new energy efficiency solutions, renewable, natural gas, and other alternatives in rail to reduce consumption and meet scope one targets
• What energy sources, alternative fuels or propulsions systems are rail organisation exploring globally to meet their net zero commitments
• Exploring alternative drives and fuels and their practical application in rail operations and maintenance to reduce emissions
• Looking to the future, research and development and investing in finding new fuel solutions for applications in industries like rail

• Integrating biodiversity, circular economy and resource protection in rail net zero, implementing process efficiencies, nature-based solutions and technology to deliver net zero emission in rail
• How can biodiversity support engineering management in the building and maintenance of railways, reducing signal sighting issues or flooding risk
• Examine how introducing biodiversity can help improve the success rate of planning permission applications for new build projects
• Choosing the right species of or the right habitat to have next to your railway, managing tree heights, reduce the number of leaves on the line or delivering sustainable drainage system
• Recognising and understanding the value of nature-based solutions for specific railway challenges, mitigating the impacts of extreme weather events and reducing maintenance cost
• Application of biodiversity in rail, actively managing and controlling the spread of both invasive and non-invasive animals to improve the management of tracks and infrastructure

• Boosting knowledge sharing and collaboration with stakeholders, suppliers and industries to achieve net zero rail
• Creating networks to enhance project management and information sharing, creating the space for technical, governance and management conversations to drive forward solutions in projects
• Improving communication across the industry, setting up a coordinating voice within sustainability and rail to drive forward the wider impacts of social mobility rail offers
• Improving the cross-industry collaboration, providing formats for infrastructure, rolling stock, supplier and government institutions to foster partnership
• How can infrastructure owners and rolling stock operators come together to optimise the operations deliver a co-ordinated approach to tacking sustainability

• Boosting knowledge sharing and collaboration with stakeholders, suppliers and industries to achieve net zero rail
• Creating networks to enhance project management and information sharing, creating the space for technical, governance and management conversations to drive forward solutions in projects
• Improving communication across the industry, setting up a coordinating voice within sustainability and rail to drive forward the wider impacts of social mobility rail offers
• How do we create the space for senior leadership to create new solutions to drive us towards net zero, improving the sharing of knowledge in forums that the deliver productive outcomes
• Improving the cross-industry collaboration, providing formats for infrastructure, rolling stock, supplier and government institutions to foster partnership
• How can infrastructure owners and rolling stock operators come together to optimise the operations deliver a co-ordinated approach to tacking sustainability

​