Increasing energy efficiency and thus saving energy plays a key role in SBB’s energy strategy: SBB aims to save 20 percent of its forecast annual energy consumption for 2025, or a total of 600 gigawatt hours (GWh). From 2025, trains are also set to run on electricity generated entirely from renewable energy sources. SBB is thus making an important contribution towards shaping the growing mobility trend in a sustainable manner.
To reach its ambitious energy-saving target, SBB is reviewing the savings potential of all areas of the business and implementing energy-saving measures throughout the company. For example, energy-efficiency criteria play a key role in the procurement of new rolling stock. SBB is also continuously improving existing trains to ensure that they too are using less energy, whether they are on the move or stationary. Employees also have a crucial part to play. With its energy-saving programme, SBB thus intends to initiate an internal process of change and a cultural shift. The responsible, and therefore economical, use of resources should be part of a constantly professional attitude. Ultimately, saving energy relieves the burden on the environment as well as the budget.
Adaptive control (ADL), also known as the “green wave”, makes a substantial contribution to the energy-saving programme. The system provides engine drivers with driving recommendations, enabling them to avoid unplanned stops ahead of signals. Trains run more smoothly, more energy-efficiently and in a more resource-saving manner. Thanks to ADL, SBB saves 72 gigawatt hours of power per year. This is the equivalent of the annual energy consumption of all households in the city of Fribourg, which has around 38,000 inhabitants. ADL is a unique and innovative tool developed in-house by SBB.
The HVZ-D peak-hour fleet of Zurich S-Bahn trains is only in use for a few hours each day, when the largest number of passengers are on the move around Zurich. Thanks to additional programming in the control centre and the vehicle, the heating systems are now linked to the daily timetable. The vehicle therefore knows when it will next be in service, enabling it to heat up automatically at the required time. This saves SBB 5 GWh a year without customers even noticing.
Optimising the nozzle control of the Pelton turbines at the Amsteg hydro power plant.
The majority of rail power, currently around 90 percent, comes from SBB’s own hydro power plants. SBB is also working hard here to make even power generation more energy-efficient. One example of this is the Amsteg power plant. This is equipped with three six-nozzle Pelton turbines which generate power by directing water from the penstock through the nozzles onto the turbine wheel. Now only two or four nozzles can be opened instead of all six depending on the output required. This increases efficiency because the same output can be generated with less water.
