How do you reconcile sustainable mobility and aging rail infrastructure?
The future of railway mobility is on track. High-speed and automated lines are spreading in and between high-density urban areas. Previously under-used, non-electrified train lines also seem destined for a more promising future as innovative rolling stock concepts gain increasing momentum. The development of more modest low-traffic train lines called "light trains" is gaining growing attention and support from public agencies and organizations.
Low-intensity train lines are a political and technical challenge for most regions: an aging, non-electrified rail infrastructure, which requires growing investments to modernize, combined with a move away from diesel rolling stock, while also seeing their customer base decrease year
after year. In this context, light trains are an appealing mobility solution for the whole ecosystem. Whereas a typical regional train weighs ~50 tons and transports 80 seated passengers, light trains aim to transport around 30 people for a fraction of the weight: < 10 tons for some of the most recent projects.
Light trains make light work: reducing wear and tear on the track and “lightening" traffic management with digital technologies while guaranteeing the highest levels of safety. This makes operating and maintenance costs lighter. With their reduced investment requirements and a limited environmental footprint, light trains are a perfect tool to maintain or strengthen transport options in low-density population areas.
French Operator SNCF is developing a light train system called Draisy to provide additional mobility solutions that complement existing TER transport options. Draisy’s design is particularly innovative, using new technologies and materials from the automotive industry, drastically reducing its mass and associated operating and maintenance costs. Equipped with an electric motor and onboard battery energy storage, it is the size of a bus and has 30 seats and 50 standing spaces. The project aims to halve the cost of rail transport per passenger-kilometer. In 2025 a Draisy pilot line will be in operation for testing. Other light train initiatives are emerging across Europe such as robust, sustainable mobility solutions like the Stadler Citylink light rail system in Germany and Coventry Very Light Rail in the UK.
In fact, the main advantage of light trains may be that, with the reduced weight, it becomes viable to move to electric, battery-based traction instead of diesel. In the more distant future, they could also leverage autonomous driving technology from the auto industry to become automated, paving the way for new business models and mobility solutions. Light trains might be a fountain of youth and a source of disruption for one of the world’s oldest and most conservative industries. The early signs are promising as a raft of ambitious startups paint their vision of autonomous, green mobility solutions.