IF articles

Summary - The search for transport systems that have sustainability and energy transition as their main objectives requires careful design that aims to minimise resource and energy consumption in order to reduce the environmental footprint of the systems themselves. Among the different transport modes, the railway is capable - due to its intrinsic characteristics - of high energy efficiency and low environmental impact, especially for the number of passengers it is able to move. There emerges, therefore, the need to quantify this impact, so as to highlight the benefit, first of all, in terms of energy consumption and emissions of climate-altering agents of the design choices applied to the railway system; moreover, for a system such as the railway, attention to detail is required in order to be able to appreciate variations in this benefit, making this need even stronger. This brings into play the Life Cycle analysis of the railway system, which in this article will be applied to the Rolling Stock in an interregional overnight transport service. By breaking down the process that leads to the production of Rolling Stock and considering use, maintenance and disposal, it becomes possible to quantify the impact and highlight which process components contribute most to the final value.

https://www.medra.org/servlet/view?lang=it&doi=10.57597/IF.04.2026.ART.1