More traffic on the rails! For this to work, we as Deutsche Bahn must maintain and expand our rail infrastructure. After all, the decarbonization of transport can only succeed if there is a massive shift to climate-friendly rail.
With such a large rail network, there is always something to do. That's why we also ensure clean air on our construction sites. To minimize the impact on the environment and local residents, we only use low-emission vehicles and construction equipment on our inner-city construction sites. They reduce the emission of soot particles by up to 90 percent.
Refueling with biofuel
We also rely on alternative fuels and drive systems for our trackwork vehicles. The entire rail vehicle fleet of the DB Bahnbau Group has already been approved for refueling with climate-friendly biofuel. The fuel is produced from biological residues and waste materials and is palm oil-free. The use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) reduces greenhouse gas emissions by around 85 to 90 percent compared to conventional diesel, depending on the composition of the raw materials. This is because only CO2e is released during combustion in the engine, which was previously removed from the atmosphere during plant growth. The rest of the greenhouse gas emissions incurred are generated when the biofuel is manufactured and transported, so in the upstream chain.
We refuel our track construction vehicles with HVO wherever it is available. To this end, we are gradually converting our refueling infrastructure. We have converted the two DB Bahnbau Group filling stations in Königsborn and Augsburg accordingly.
Innovative drives on the construction site
The hybrid track maintenance vehicle (GAF) is a climate-friendly addition to the track construction fleet of the DB Bahnbau Group and DB InfraGO. In addition to a diesel engine, it also has a battery. When there is less load, the vehicle can run on electricity from the battery. If more power is required, the diesel engine helps out. It serves as a generator to recharge the battery. The vehicle is equipped with a large loading area, an innovative working crane or, alternatively, a powerful lifting platform. This enables it to transport large loads such as rails, sleepers, switches or other building materials on our construction sites. With the innovative hybrid drive, it can also be used safely in tunnel environments. In addition, the hybrid GAF can be refueled with HVO.
In addition to the hybrid GAF, other electric construction equipment is also used on our construction sites. At Frankfurt Central, an electric wheel loader, a hybrid excavator and a fully electric mini excavator were used to dig a trench about 500 meters long in the station's cable tunnel. We are testing a fully electric working platform for use on our construction sites as we work on building the S 21 line in Berlin.
Using electric construction equipment ensures clean air and eliminates the need for extraction systems and filters in tunnels. Their low noise emissions are an added bonus.
