The quantity of newly extracted primary raw materials is to be reduced to a minimum. This is achieved by using fewer materials and increasing the proportion of recycled and/or rapidly renewable materials. In addition, care will be taken to ensure that materials can be recycled or broken down again at the end of their use.

Example: asphalt recycling.

SBB is playing a pioneering role in asphalt recycling. It has been using recycled asphalt for platform areas since 2020 (60% in the substrate and 40% in the visible surface layer). SBB installations are to be used for longer and more intensively. This efficiency improvement will result in the use of fewer materials and products to achieve the same level of performance, saving materials, energy and costs.

Example: circular construction of rail engineering buildings.

In the future, new wooden railway technology buildings will replace the old concrete standardised buildings, continuing the modular construction approach. The prefabricated floor, facade and roof structure is made from Swiss wood and can be quickly assembled and reused. With photovoltaic panels on the facade and the roof, the design maximises the surface area available for renewable electricity generation. The energy-efficient cooling of the rooms is operated with fresh outdoor air (free cooling) for as long as possible. During the summer months, a cooling unit using a natural refrigerant (propane R-290) can be added. 

Assets are to be used more intensively and for a longer periods of time. This increase in efficiency will mean that fewer materials and products are used to achieve the same output. Material use, energy consumption and costs are therefore saved. 

Example: renovation of train coaches.

The renovation of type EW IV train coaches includes protecting the body and floor of the coach against corrosion damage and upgrading the passenger compartment. They will be used on SBB’s long-distance services until the 2030s, keeping the already well-used coaches in circulation for even longer.

Example of Werkstadt Zürich.

The site of the SBB workshops in Zurich Altstetten is undergoing transformation. Over the next few years, it will be converted into an urban production facility called ‘Werkstadt Zürich’. The circular economy is a key element in this project: the existing, heritage-protected structure will be preserved, while some components will be recycled and sustainable materials like wood used. For example, old catenary masts were used as load-bearing structures in Q Hall, while the aluminium plates of scrapped SBB lighting pillars were repurposed for the lift cladding. This careful approach is making a major contribution towards optimising the project’s energy footprint and minimising CO₂ emissions for the entire site.

At the end of products’ live cycles, the aim is to keep materials in circulation to cut waste and reduce demand for primary raw materials.

Example: reusing ballast.

Every year, SBB renews around 200km of track and about 600,000 tonnes of track ballast, most of which has been replaced with new ballast up until now. 

Due to spatial planning regulations and nature conservation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to develop new sites for the extraction of materials that can be used for ballast in Switzerland. This makes reusing ballast and keeping it in circulation extremely important. 

There are both environmental and financial benefits to reprocessing track ballast. Its reuse enables significant cost savings to be made. 

Since 2024, SBB has been using refurbished ballast. By 2030, the company aims to increase the amount of cleaned ballast or recycled ballast used to around 46%. The goal is to reduce the annual need for new ballast, thereby conserving this scarce and strategically important resource.

Example: Reconditioning rail technology materials.

SBB has – in addition to many other materials – over 130,000 catenary masts. Old catenary masts were generally recycled in the past, but are now to be reconditioned instead. Reconditioning will reduce environmental impact by around 80%, cut the CO₂ footprint by about 80% and improve cost efficiency by 23% compared with recycling in the steelworks. In 2025, SBB refurbished approximately 10,000 pieces of overhead line equipment, saving more than CHF 320,000 in new purchases. Starting in 2026, major overhead line components, such as masts, will be systematically reused.