News
- 12. 1. 2024
The Institute of Technology and Business in České Budějovice was accepted as a new associate member of the association. We are looking forward for collaboration.
Invitations
- 10. 4. 2024
SAVE THE DATE - Green Deal conference in (not only rail) transport Dear colleagues and friends of (not only rail) transport, our association, in cooperation with the CTU rectorate and other partners and personalities, is preparing a one-day conference on the topic "Green Deal on Railways". The European Green Deal policy evokes different feelings and reactions, from conciliatory to outright rejection. In the election programs of various political parties running for the European Parliament, the Green Deal is one of the most talked about topics because it affects us all. Today, the Green Deal is already intertwined with many legislative standards and other binding documents, so it is necessary to discuss it more and prepare meaningful and, above all, realistic proposals for its timely change. The goal of the conference: the goal of the conference is to explain the current status of the Green Deal, to identify the possibilities of meaningful changes and to provoke a public discussion that will lead to changes in some parameters of this European policy. Date and place: May 22, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the CTU rector's office, Jugoslávské partizánů 1580/3, Prague 6 (you can participate in person or watch the live streaming). Speakers: MEPs of the Czech Republic, representatives of the Ministry of Transport, Industry and Trade and the Environment, representatives of CTU, Chamber of Commerce, Czech Railways, ČD Cargo, Railway Administration, Association of Railway and Road Carriers and others. If you are interested in the conference, please contact us. We will send you further details. Thank you for your patronage!
Our way
The current style of transport based mainly on the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels is unsustainable for the future due to its high energy and emission intensity. Like other areas of human activity transport is undergoing a fundamental transformation. However, its goal is not just to reduce energy consumption and emissions, but to significantly increase the quality of passenger and goods transported towards higher speed and comfort.
The future of transport is multimodality – thoughtful cooperation of individual modes of transport. The three basic energy advantages of railways (low rolling resistance of steel wheels on steel rails, low aerodynamic drag of long slender vehicles forming a train and widely established line power supply) give modern railways an important role in multimodal mobility. Ensuring strong and regular traffic flows.
However, in order to fulfil this role, the railways must motivate passengers and carriers with speed and quality, this must have adequate transport capacity and is related to the applications of modern technologies.
These principles naturally operate on many levels. People like to travel in modern fast trains, the regions are developing railway transport, and the Czech Republic is modernizing its conventional railway network and starting to intensively build a high-speed railway system. At European level, transport targets are defined in great detail and aim to meet the goals adopted at world level in the concrete form of the Paris Climate Agreement and at European Union level in the form of the Green Deal for Europe.
Of course, this event also affects institutions professionally engaged in railway transport, i.e. carriers, industry, research, schools etc. They connect their future with the future of modern railways and have a natural interest in actively influencing it.
The effort to meet the goals of the modern emission-free railway has resulted in a coordinated idea of creating a Green Rail Association.
Through its activities, the Green Rail Association wants to help the future development of green railways in the Czech Republic. As part of our activities, we will present the undeniable advantages of the railway, not only in terms of safety but also in terms of high environmental friendliness.
The efficient use of railways significantly helps to reduce emissions from transport. Railways account for only 0.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, which is a really significant difference compared to road transport (71.7%) and air transport (13.9%).
Europe itself is giving the railways the green light and investing heavily in its development. This will significantly help to strengthen the railways' share of the transport market and also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport.
At a glance
The Green Rail Association was officially founded on September 17th, 2021 (symbolically - on Railway Day). Its main goal is the coordinated development of emission-free transport so that investments in the development and production of vehicles, but also in the construction of related infrastructure are efficient and affordable for carriers and customers. At the same time, the association wants to be a partner of the state government and regional governments in creating the necessary legislative framework for this important change within the framework of the Green Deal for Europe.
The founding members of the Green Rail Association are Czech Railways, ČD Cargo, Škoda Transportation, Siemens Mobility ČR, CZ LOKO, ČEPRO and the College of Logistics in Přerov.
The main goals of the Green Rail Association:
- consistency of the objectives of the Green Deal for Europe and the activities of the association
- active cooperation on the introduction of emission-free and energy-efficient rolling stock, which will be both environmentally friendly and economical
- reducing energy consumption and emissions produced in connection with the transport of people and goods by rail
- addressing the issue of reducing the energy and emission intensity of railway rolling stock
- focus on the development of zero-emission and energy-efficient rail transport and the development of infrastructure for zero-emission rail transport
- support and promotion of the common interest for the inclusion of current electric emission-free vehicles among the supported investments aimed at reducing energy consumption and emissions
- platform for creation and exchange of technical information on ecological/emission-free vehicles, cooperation and possibly comments to technical standards
- presentation and application of common interest for the creation and subsequent approval of favourable legislation, which will also enable the development of emission-free energy-efficient rail transport
- support and application of common interest in the creation of adequate financial resources (e.g. subsidy programs), or the introduction of such financial models that economically cover ecological and emission-free transport (e.g. coefficients in payments from customers of transport services)
- positively oriented promotion of emission-free energy-efficient railway transport, incl. positive impact on the public
To fulfil its goal, the Green Rail Association has set up working groups which are composed of experts from individual members of the association as well as from the professional public.
Board:
Roman Kokšal (Siemens Mobility ČR) – předseda
Tomáš Tóth (ČD Cargo) – místopředseda
Jiří Ješeta (České dráhy)
Tomáš Ignačák (Škoda Transportation)
Josef Gulyás (CZ LOKO)
Audit Committee:
Antonín Hájek – předseda
Robert Heděnec
Jan Kutálek
Václav Cempírek
Jaromír Šilhánek
Honorary president:
Václav Nebeský
Executive Director:
Antonín Felber
Our members
Full members of the Green Rail Association are
Associate members of the Green Railways Association are
Contact
Zelená železnice, z. s.
Trocnovská 1/2
CZ-13000 Praha 3
IN: 11857251
