Mainstreaming GHG Mitigation in Rail Freight and Developing Strategies for Sustainable Transport Infrastructure

Project Summary:

This project aimed to help Central Asian government agencies partner with the Korea Transport Institute in order to conduct comprehensive greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollution estimates of rail networks and recommendations for GHG reduction strategies related to rail construction and operations. The resulting GHG railway analysis supported the World Bank’s growing portfolio in the railway sector of various countries, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Croatia, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and India, and contribute to World Bank lending efforts in sustainable transportation networks.

List of Activities:

• A review of the existing research on GHG of transport modes with priority in the rail
• An analysis of the key railway features to contribute to sustainable growth and the preparation of a strategy for the World Bank Group to support green growth through rail
• The development of tools for estimating and mitigating the GHG impacts of rail project
• The development of best practices in implementing sustainable and energy efficient measures in railway construction and operations
• A pilot implementation of the tool in at least two lines planned or under operation in Eurasian railway networks
• An update of the Bank’s Railway Toolkit

Outcomes:

Output 1:

• Report
• Study visit

Output 2:

• Report

Output 3:

• Excel based tool

Output 4:

• Report

Output 5:

• Report
• Seminar

Output 6:

• A new toolkit

Outcomes:

The outcome accelerated to shift to environmental-friendly transport mode by providing reasonable evaluation tools, and ensured monitoring of GHG emissions and other risks to sustainability during implementation. The project contributed to build sustainable and resilient railway systems in developing countries. The project promoted efficient railway projects through adequate planning tools and sound rationale and prioritization during project identification and preparation. A well designed tool and pilot program showed desirable change in railway systems to developing countries to build more sustainable and efficient transport system, globally reducing risks of climate change resulted from GHG emission. The methodology to promote railway projects helped to exploit opportunities to reduce fossil fuel use in transport. This led to immediate cost reductions in long-distance freight transport and reduced transport costs once carbon prices rise as carbon trade markets are getting enlarged in many countries. In the urban context the relief to congestion improved local labor markets, helping to increase productivity.

Collaboration with K-Partners and Others:

• WBG internal partners:

(i) Economic Corridor CoP, Green Transport, Urban CoP, Cross-Cutting Solution Area, and International Finance Corporation were involved during implementation, providing peer review and valuable technical inputs.

• K-Partners:

(i) The KOTI (Korea Transport Institute) was involved as a primary partner in Korea to design methodologies to analyze GHG, to provide inputs for a pilot and to facilitate the project outcomes dissemination.

(ii) The KRRI (Korea Railroad Research Institute) as a specialized institute for railway technologies to participate to review deliverables from the project.

(iii) The KEI (Korea Environment Institute), collaborated to develop methodologies with the KOTI and support the team through sharing knowledge and experiences.

• Other external partners

(i) The International Transport Forum (ITF/OECD), the International Union of Railways (UIC), the Organization for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD) were involved as those organizations have been active in producing knowledge and data in the area of railway transport and climate change