Description
Emissions from transport cause a massive impact on air quality and negative consequences related to the climate. In particular, the utilization of fossil fuels in e.g. internal combustion engines cause gaseous and particle emissions. Due to a high degree of electrification, especially in the western countries, railways are considered a “green” transport system, as exhaust emission are eliminated. However, railways still emit so-called non-exhaust emissions due to wear, abrasive processes and evaporation. While gaseous substances such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are not expected to cause severe harm, non-exhaust particle (NEP) emissions comprise a variety of heavy-metals that are associated with respiratory health issues for humans and negative consequences for the environment. In addition, due to their physical properties such as electric conductivity, these particles represent a special challenge in the operation of long railway tunnels.
For this reason, TUG researchers carried out extensive measurement campaigns in railway tunnels operated by Austrian Federal Railways that aimed at a deeper knowledge of the consequences for tunnel operation. It turned out that the particulate matter (PM) load strongly depends on the tunnel characteristics (length, traffic mode, slab track, etc.) and varies significantly along a tunnel. The study also investigated the impact of particulate matter on the required maintenance effort, suggesting PM filter service lives of 1.5 – 2 months and cleaning cycles of the illuminated handrail of greater than 1 year.
