Koleje Mazowieckie and ECCO Rail in the Green Railway Program

On September 22, 2021, during the TRAKO railway fair, Koleje Mazowieckie and ECCO Rail signed letters of intent with PKP Energetyka under which these entities declared they will join the Green Railway Program. Thus the Program already includes six carriers planning to switch to powering their trains with energy from renewable energy sources.

Additional carriers join the process of transforming the railway into the first means of transport almost fully powered by solar and wind energy. The Green Railway Program was created by an industry initiative, the Center for Railway Energy Efficiency (CEEK), which brings together entities responsible for the consumption of 95% of electricity on the railroads in Poland. Through its implementation, rail will become the forerunner of climate-neutral transport in our country, transitioning to 85% RES power by 2030 and ultimately 100%.`

Today, the Program was joined by Koleje Mazowieckie, the second largest carrier in Poland in terms of the number of transported passengers, responsible for the vast majority of regional and agglomeration rail transport in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship—the largest and the most populated region of our country. In 2019, more than 62 million people used KM services (42 million in the “pandemic” year 2020). In Mazovia alone, the company transported 58.8 million passengers during that period, which is as much as 65% of all passengers using regional and agglomeration railways in the region. Additionally, ECCO Rail—the fastest growing freight carrier active on the Polish market, has focused on international goods transport with specialized emphasis on the development in intermodal transport, and has signed up to join the Green Railway Program.

Both entities have thus joined DB Cargo Polska, CTL Logistics, Łódzka Kolej Aglomeracyjna and Koleje Śląskie, which are already working with PKP Energetyka on the creation of a model for the purchase of electricity from RES under the Green Railway Program.

“Green energy from renewable sources is the future of railway. Therefore, for many years we have been investing mainly in modern and energy-efficient electrically powered rolling stock. By joining the Green Railway Program, we will be able to drastically reduce the carbon footprint generated by our transport activities. The switch to the use of traction energy from RES will allow us to provide passengers using railway services in Mazovia with a truly eco-friendly means of transport. This fits perfectly with the strategic documents of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship—the Air Protection Program or the plan for sustainable development of public transport in Mazovia”, said Robert Stępień, President of the Management Board of Koleje Mazowieckie.

“ECCO Rail takes the transport industry’s environmental responsibility very seriously. For several years now, the whole ECCO capital group has not just been a carrier but a creator of innovative transport solutions. Signing this letter of intent is an important part of our ongoing large eco-friendly projects, which will have a significant impact on our carbon footprint in logistics, both in Poland and Europe”, stressed Monika Łupińska, President of ECCO Rail.

“The implementation of the Green Railway Program is speeding up. We are engaging more entities to cooperate. Today, it is not only the railway sector's collective plan for a green transformation, but a program in the making. Switching to RES power supplied by Koleje Mazowieckie and ECCO Rail will reduce CO2 emissions, to compensate for about 28 million trees that would have to be planted annually. However, the effect of the Green Railway Program will not only be to reduce carbon dioxide production but also to increase the popularity of railway and its use in the transport system of our country. Customers—both passengers and businesses—are becoming more and more environmentally conscious and pay more attention to the impact of transport on the environment in their choices. And according to results from recent research of the ProKolej Foundation, the importance of this criterion will be growing”, stressed Leszek Hołda, Member of the Management Board of PKP Energetyka.

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