RSSB make welcome commitment to improving rail air quality – and EMSOL set to help.

This June, the Rail Safety and Standard Board (RSSB) released an industry-wide strategy – the Air Quality Strategy Framework – that’s backed by all rail bodies.

EMSOL have been working for many months with rail partners who recoginse the increasing importance of understanding air quality reducing local pollution, so the report’s absolutely welcome. Our experience, and best practise tells us monitoring emissions is the, urgent, first stage to allow targeted air quality improvements and measurable value.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Rail is responsible for around 2% of British nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions and around 4% of transport NOX emissions, according to the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. Rail also contributes around 0.5% of national and 2% of transport PM10 and PM2.5 emissions.

These aren’t huge percentages, but the impact is considerable.

Studies link both short- and long-term NOx exposure to various adverse health effects, including decreased lung function, increased respiratory symptoms, increased cancer incidence, adverse birth outcomes and mortality.

There’s also robust evidence that short- and long-term exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 has negative health consequences like aggravated respiratory symptoms, increased hospital admissions, increased lung cancer incidence and increased mortality.

Given the British rail industry employs around 240,000 people and there were 1.8bn rail passenger journeys in 2018/19, that presents a challenge.

And the conversation around air quality is in especially sharp focus given the current COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent study cements the link between air emissions exposure and COVID-19 death rate, finding “a small increase in long-term exposure leads to a large increase in the COVID-19 death rate”.

In that context – and spurred on by evidence that in some areas over lockdown – the RSSB in June released the Air Quality Strategy Framework. The report commits to establish a country-wide “programme to measure emissions and ensure improvements”.

What does improving rail air quality look like? 

Diesel-powered trains – both passenger and freight – are a major source of harmful emissions for rail, that will be operating on the rail network for the next 20 years, or longer That’s a difficult problem to solve, given only 42% of the UK’s railways are electrified. Right now, 29% of Britain’s current fleet are diesel.

And in the rail freight sector, the report notes, some 90% of traction is diesel-powered. Around 40% of diesel engines used for traction across Britain aren’t certified to any emissions standard.

Although the government has committed to invest £40bn in the UK rail infrastructure between 2019-2024 a strategy for moving away from diesel power has not been published, so more immediate action is needed.

The report is clear on the distinction between long-term decarbonisation and the “short-term, location specific air quality mitigation measures [that] are also needed”.

To that end, report proposes a three-theme framework of model; act; monitor.

Based on two years working with rail partners to reduce local pollution, however, we’d suggest a tweak to that approach. Our learnings show monitoring is a crucial first step before taking action, to show real improvements from investment.

By measuring before and after the impact of mitigation, and on an ongoing basis. The value of mitigations can be established against a baseline that allows other factors, such as weather, to be considered. This approach aligns with globally accepted quality management approaches.

Real-time air quality monitoring is crucial to targeting action at the point-of-need, which the report recognises is vital: “location-specific air quality information is needed to prioritise improvement measures in the highest risk locations”. Our ongoing project at Birmingham New Street is a good example. With EMSOL real-time air quality monitoring data, National Rail can guide their use of ventilation fans which, if used indiscriminately, are excessively noisy and expensive.

EMSOL monitoring data across New Street is then linked to Darwin tracking data, to provide full visibility over the specific trains causing breaches – to allow targeted action and enforcement.

EMSOL’s Air Quality Action Platform could facilitate this precision across Britain’s rail network, allowing targeted local action where it’s needed most. Following a slightly adapted methodology of measure; act; improve would empower rail to understand real-time emissions to drive targeted action where it’ll have the most impact. That’s a route to practical, pragmatic change – today.

EMSOL’s Air Quality Action Platform empowers targeted action to mitigate air quality problems at a local level. Find out more here