Moving railways forward into an eco-friendly future

Energy use in transport is unsustainable and the need to address this is a big opportunity for the rail sector. But it has things to do itself to be the real green alternative says Libor Lochman, CER Executive Director

Libor Lochman has been Executive Director of CER since January 2012. Born in 1963 in Czechoslovakia, he graduated at the Transport University in Zilina and has a doctorate in electronics from the West-Bohemian University Plzen. He has a strong background in Control-Command and signalling systems. Prior to his new role, he was CER Deputy Executive Director and leader of technical affairs (2007-2011), and before that acted as director of the Railway Test Centre, a facility for testing European rolling stock, infrastructure and signalling components, in Prague (2000-2005).

Libor Lochman has been Executive Director of CER since January 2012. Born in 1963 in Czechoslovakia, he graduated at the Transport University in Zilina and has a doctorate in electronics from the West-Bohemian University Plzen. He has a strong background in Control-Command and signalling systems. Prior to his new role, he was CER Deputy Executive Director and leader of technical affairs (2007-2011), and before that acted as director of the Railway Test Centre, a facility for testing European rolling stock, infrastructure and signalling components, in Prague (2000-2005).

Electric power is the energy of choice for railways but it is not always supplied and used efficiently and is not a practical option for every line.

Electric power is the energy of choice for railways but it is not always supplied and used efficiently and is not a practical option for every line.

Energy  use in transport is currently far from being sustainable. Across Europe, energy consumption for passenger and freight transport has increased in line with the rise in transport demand over the last few decades, putting heavy pressure on fossil fuel resources as well as increasing emissions of greenhouse gases. Transport is the only sector where energy consumption and CO2 emissions continue to grow, and it is now responsible for around 25% of total EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions....