UIC Launch EcoPassenger Website
EcoPassenger provides the most accurate information on timetable of the rail services, performing the calculations according to the type of train and service. The new version of EcoPassenger extends the scope of the tool to Russia, Turkey, Belarus, Greece and Ukraine according to the inclusion of these networks at the MERITS Data base.
The new tool has renovated the graphical design and the website, adapting to the most modern trends on IT’s (Smartphone and tablets).
Furthermore, EcoPassenger is fed with the best available data for all modes, and developed in cooperation with Ifeu (the German Institute for Environment and Energy) for energy consumptions and emission factors, the Sustainable Development Foundation for railways consumptions and electricity emissions and Hacon (routing system and software). The tool do not only calculate the energy or the fuel it takes to run the train, car or the plane. The calculations include the emissions from the cumulative energy consumption, including the energy used to produce the electricity or the fuel, in a “well to wheel”-perspective.
Users have the possibility to calculate airplanes emissions including the Radiactive Forcing Index (RFI) of GHG emissions at high altitudes. For cars, the EURO standard type car can be selected, including the latest EURO 6 standard, in order to adjust the calculation to more realistic conditions. Furthermore, load factor can be customized for all modes of transport.
Rail data included at EcoPassenger come from the Environmental Strategy Reporting System (ESRS) of UIC. This system includes a set of indicators of the European UIC members and Russia, reporting the environmental impacts of rail services. ESRS includes the dual reporting according to the conclusions of the UIC Zero Carbon Project and the GHG Protocol Guidance, one of the main standards of the topic.
This new version of EcoPassenger implements the Zero Carbon Project conclusions as a new functionality for users. CO2 emissions of rail services are displayed in two ways, with the national production mix -the general average of the country-, but also using the railways mix, based on the electricity produced and purchased by rail companies, including the guarantees of origin (GOs) of renewable sources. A new methodological report produced by IFEU and Hacon is published in the website containing all the data and sources used to perform the calculations.
In addition, the new website allows the possibility to implement widgets of the tool in different websites, in the following languages:
This functionality allows increasing visibility of environmental advantages of rail compared to other major competitor modes, especially facing next COP21.
Further information and access to the widgets & tools can be found here.