20 / Sustainable sustainable rail Rail
Green signals C
Roger Williams explores how well railways and their caterers are delivering on sustainability
ompared with other modes of transport, rail has a clear advantage when it comes to sustainability but that doesn't mean train operators and their suppliers are resting on their laurels.
the Swedish Transport Agency, the average car produces 93 grams of CO2/passenger km with one passenger on board while a report by SAS reveals an aircraft produces 95 grams of CO2/ passenger km.
Back in motion
Letting the train take the strain
Railway caterers, badly affected by the pandemic, lost on average 60% of revenues, totalling over £1billion – devastating for an industry that has very low margins and high operating costs. Even now, many are only operating at 60-70% capacity. Reductions in expenditure curtailed progress of sustainability projects but now more trains are being reintroduced and the wheels of the industry are finally turning again. There’s also a realisation that sustainability and cost efficiency are not mutually exclusive, Rail colleagues at all levels clearly understand their role in improving efficiency and sustainability and are willing to speed up change.
These figures give an insight into why rail’s drive towards new sustainable catering technology has been slower than with airlines. One example of this is that caterers don’t need to differentiate between F&B loading weights as the variance in train power is negligible, whereas for a plane the weight of the catering load is a crucial factor. Stock can also be left onboard to save the constant loading, stripping off and reloading transportation and recycling that airline modular systems require. Instead, trains simply top up quantities from platform-side stores, saving a significant amount of energy, equipment, staff time and reducing stock-outs.
Lowest carbon emissions
Food waste priority
The attention of governments and the public on carbon emissions from travel gives rail an advantage with its exceptionally low emissions per passenger kilometre. According to SJ (Sweden), the carbon footprint for its intercity trains is only 0.0024 grams per pax/km. Comparatively, according to figures from
Food waste is the top consideration for making a change for better onboard sustainability. Trains can last for a whole day (or even days) with only one main stock delivery. However, fresh food waste is a problem when refrigeration power is lost in turnarounds. Walk-on / walk-off services also mean caterers
onboardhospitality.com
