SBB joins energy management coalition

Switzerland’s SBB has become the latest infrastructure manager to join an industry initiative aiming to better understand energy usage across the European rail network.

The Eress partnership, which also includes infrastructure managers from Denmark, Holland, Norway, Sweden and Finland, is looking to install an effective energy settlement system across Europe that will ensure that operators are only paying for the energy they are using.

Both national and cross-boarder operators are currently paying estimated bills for their energy usage. Eress – a not-for-profit organisation – is championing the roll out of Erex which provides accurate readings on energy consumption through the use of onboard monitoring systems on electric trains.

The organisation believes that Erex will show energy consumption patterns and could enable operators to reduce their usage by around 30 per cent.