Sustainability.

Energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, noise protection, stock consumption or waste – SBB is proud to be one of the most environmentally friendly railways in Europe, and puts this on display with transparency.

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2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
 
Energy consumption within Switzerland
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Energy consumption within Switzerland


Footnote

Data on SBB AG and SBB Cargo Ltd (Switzerland).
Electricity and fuel consumption in Switzerland
GWh 2,470 2,562 2,523 2,482 2,458 -1.0%
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Electricity and fuel consumption in Switzerland


Rail power consumption by SBB passenger and freight transport
GWh 1,578 1,646 1,692 1,660 1,655 -0.3%
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Rail power consumption by SBB passenger and freight transport


Footnote

SBB’s point of view as a railway undertaking; including SBB Cargo International Ltd.
Infrastructure network rail power consumption
GWh 87 90 67 91 103 +12.6%
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Infrastructure network rail power consumption


Footnote

Own use of rail power by infrastructure network for point heaters, installations, the electrical traction of engineering and work trains and for overhead contact line losses.
Own use of rail power by energy infrastructure
GWh 190 189 145 140 131 -6.6%
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Own use of rail power by energy infrastructure


Footnote

Own use of rail power by energy infrastructure for operating the power plants and for losses in the transmission grid, in the frequency converters and in the pump drive.
Fuel for rail traction
GWh 103 108 107 97 97 +0.2%
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Fuel for rail traction


Fossil diesel
GWh 103 108 107 97 88 -9.8%
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Fossil diesel


Footnote

Fuel is pure diesel or a diesel-HVO mix; shown here is the calculated quantity of pure fossil diesel.
Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)
GWh 0 0 0 0 10
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Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)


Footnote

Fuel is HVO in a 25% mix with diesel; shown here is the calculated quantity of pure HVO.
Fuel for road vehicles, machines and equipment
GWh 29 28 31 28 26 -6.6%
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Fuel for road vehicles, machines and equipment


Electricity for buildings and facilities
GWh 285 298 290 285 281 -1.3%
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Electricity for buildings and facilities


Thermal energy for buildings and facilities
GWh 198 204 191 181 165 -9.1%
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Thermal energy for buildings and facilities


Heating oil
GWh 49.8 45.3 57.9 43.9 31.7 -27.8%
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Heating oil


Natural gas
GWh 58.5 59.8 45.4 43.6 41.3 -5.2%
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Natural gas


Propane
GWh 4.4 11.2 7.7 5.8 4.7 -18.7%
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Propane


Biogas
GWh 6.3 7.4 5.9 4.8 8.0 +66.5%
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Biogas


Wood
GWh 17.1 18.9 20.8 22.6 24.5 +8.4%
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Wood


District heating
GWh 61.5 61.0 53.5 60.3 54.3 -9.8%
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District heating


Specific energy consumption of railway passenger transport
kWh/100 Pkm 12.13 11.86 9.01 7.77 7.62 -1.9%
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Specific energy consumption of railway passenger transport


Footnote

SBB’s point of view as a railway undertaking; including standard gauge subsidiaries of SBB Regional Services.
Long-Distance Services
kWh/100 Pkm 9.90 9.38 6.96 6.03 5.97 -1.1%
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Long-Distance Services


Footnote

SBB’s point of view as a railway undertaking.
Regional Services
kWh/100 Pkm 17.13 17.59 14.20 12.01 11.65 -3.0%
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Regional Services


Footnote

SBB’s point of view as a railway undertaking; including standard gauge subsidiaries of SBB Regional Services.
Specific energy consumption for railway freight traffic
kWh/100 net tonne-km 4.05 4.09 4.11 4.07 4.03 -1.0%
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Specific energy consumption for railway freight traffic


Footnote

SBB’s point of view as a railway undertaking; including SBB Cargo International Ltd.
 
Greenhouse gas emissions within Switzerland
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Greenhouse gas emissions within Switzerland


Footnote

Data on SBB AG, SBB Cargo Ltd and SBB Cargo International Ltd.
Greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption
t CO₂e 67,381 69,608 68,623 61,207 53,783 -12.1%
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Greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption


Footnote

Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2, excluding Scope 3).
Traction current
t CO₂e 1,140 1,180 1,211 1,204 1,175 -2.4%
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Traction current


Footnote

SBB’s point of view as a railway undertaking; including SBB Cargo International Ltd.
Own use of rail power by energy infrastructure
t CO₂e 0 0 0 0 0
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Own use of rail power by energy infrastructure


Footnote

The generation of electricity for the railway does not result in any direct or indirect greenhouse gas emissions.
Fuel for rail traction
t CO₂e 28,209 29,399 29,187 26,530 23,971 -9.6%
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Fuel for rail traction


Fuel for road vehicles, machines and equipment
t CO₂e 7,837 8,277 8,287 7,611 7,108 -6.6%
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Fuel for road vehicles, machines and equipment


Electricity for buildings and facilities
t CO₂e 225 235 228 224 222 -1.3%
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Electricity for buildings and facilities


Thermal energy for buildings and facilities
t CO₂e 29,909 30,453 29,662 25,572 21,233 -17.0%
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Thermal energy for buildings and facilities


Specific greenhouse gas emissions from railway passenger transport
g CO₂e/100 Pkm 22.2 21.7 16.5 14.2 14.0 -1.9%
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Specific greenhouse gas emissions from railway passenger transport


Footnote

SBB’s point of view as a railway undertaking; including standard gauge subsidiaries of SBB Regional Services. The calculation of these specific emissions follows the EN 16258 standard (“Well-to-Wheel”, without shunting and without construction, maintenance and dismantling of energy producing plants). Calculated on the basis of 90% hydro power and 10% nuclear power.

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Long-Distance Services
g CO₂e/100 Pkm 18.1 17.2 12.7 11.1 10.9 -1.1%
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Long-Distance Services


Regional Services
g CO₂e/100 Pkm 31.4 32.2 26.0 22.0 21.3 -3.0%
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Regional Services


Footnote

Excluding Zentralbahn.
Specific greenhouse gas emissions from railway freight traffic
g CO₂e/100 tonne-km 189.6 186.5 185.4 191.4 171.5 -10.4%
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Specific greenhouse gas emissions from railway freight traffic


Footnote

SBB’s point of view as a railway undertaking, including SBB Cargo International Ltd. The calculation of these specific emissions follows the EN 16258 standard (“Well-to-Wheel”, without shunting and without construction, maintenance and dismantling of energy producing plants). Calculated on the basis of 90% hydro power and 10% nuclear power.
 
Noise protection
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Noise protection


Footnote

Fleet at year-end.
Low-noise rolling stock SBB Passenger Services
% 98.0 98.3 98.5 98.6 98.6 +0.0%
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Low-noise rolling stock SBB Passenger Services


Low-noise freight wagons SBB Cargo Ltd (Switzerland)
% 98.0 98.8 98.8 98.8 99.8 +1.0%
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Low-noise freight wagons SBB Cargo Ltd (Switzerland)


Noise barriers and walls
km 412 417 422 425 427 +0.5%
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Noise barriers and walls


Footnote

Construction length.
of which SBB infrastructure
km 411 416 421 424 426 +0.5%
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of which SBB infrastructure


Footnote

Construction length.
 
Stock consumption
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Stock consumption


Footnote

Data on SBB AG and SBB Cargo Ltd (Switzerland).
Track construction materials
t 617,496 643,583 642,251 602,106 525,155 -12.8%
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Track construction materials


Gravel
t 49,612 63,996 59,349 64,215 53,400 -16.8%
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Gravel


Ballast
t 460,729 466,495 465,499 426,900 370,000 -13.3%
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Ballast


Line sleepers
t 50,335 55,072 61,186 59,905 52,634 -12.1%
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Line sleepers


produced from concrete
t 45,773 50,478 56,308 55,363 50,751 -8.3%
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produced from concrete


produced from wood
t 2,557 2,913 3,057 2,257 1,407 -37.7%
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produced from wood


produced from steel
t 2,006 1,680 1,821 2,285 476 -79.2%
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produced from steel


Points sleepers
t 12,154 16,188 13,092 12,719 11,951 -6.0%
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Points sleepers


produced from concrete
t 10,356 14,287 11,152 10,512 11,110 +5.7%
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produced from concrete


produced from wood
t 1,798 1,901 1,940 2,207 841 -61.9%
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produced from wood


Rails
t 44,665 41,832 43,125 38,368 37,170 -3.1%
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Rails


Liquid fuels and propellants
1,000 l 18,275 18,109 19,617 16,982 15,632 -7.9%
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Liquid fuels and propellants


Fossil diesel
1,000 l 13,178 13,464 13,506 12,328 11,232 -8.9%
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Fossil diesel


Footnote

Fuel is pure diesel or a diesel-HVO mix; shown here is the calculated quantity of pure fossil diesel.
Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)
1,000 l 0 2 0 0 1,016
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Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)


Footnote

Fuel is HVO in a 25% mix with diesel; shown here is the calculated quantity of pure HVO.
Fossil petrol
1,000 l 120 120 324 269 221 -17.9%
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Fossil petrol


Fossil heating oil
1,000 l 4,977 4,523 5,787 4,386 3,164 -27.8%
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Fossil heating oil


Lubricants
t 589 568 472 461 503 +9.1%
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Lubricants


of which switch and pin lubricants
t 18 17 17 19 20 +4.1%
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of which switch and pin lubricants


of which wheel flange oil
t 43 44 42 39 43 +7.9%
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of which wheel flange oil


Herbicides
t 1.4 1.9 1.4 0.8 0.6 -30.7%
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Herbicides


 
Waste
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Waste


Footnote

Data on SBB AG and SBB Cargo Ltd (Switzerland).
Industrial waste
t 255,409 243,807 268,659 260,630 247,066 -5.2%
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Industrial waste


Track excavation waste (ballast, sand and gravel)
t 165,459 149,496 181,835 175,903 176,582 +0.4%
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Track excavation waste (ballast, sand and gravel)


Footnote

Quantity of track excavation waste that cannot be cleaned on site and immediately reused as ballast. It is handed over to Swiss waste management companies, which process and reuse around 80% of it, for example as chips for concrete; the remaining 20% has to be landfilled. To these quantities must be added the portion of the track excavation waste that is so heavily polluted that it must be disposed of in hazardous waste landfills (see section on hazardous waste).
Metals
t 73,775 71,955 64,894 63,474 56,108 -11.6%
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Metals


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling.
Concrete sleepers
t 9,798 16,453 15,207 15,389 8,076 -47.5%
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Concrete sleepers


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling.
Building materials, excavation
t 2,472 2,159 2,459 1,981 1,407 -29.0%
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Building materials, excavation


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling, thermal recovery or landfill.
Wood
t 1,672 1,520 1,341 1,332 1,550 +16.3%
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Wood


Footnote

Waste disposal: thermal recovery.
Paper, cardboard
t 835 797 852 822 1,887 +129.6%
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Paper, cardboard


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling.
Plastic, rubber
t 392 219 226 314 258 -17.8%
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Plastic, rubber


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling or thermal recovery.
Electronic waste
t 256 328 449 316 123 -61.2%
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Electronic waste


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling.
Organic waste, compost
t 32 35 73 41 33 -18.5%
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Organic waste, compost


Footnote

Waste disposal: composting, fermentation.
Glass
t 184 196 207 162 145 -10.8%
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Glass


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Waste disposal: recycling.
Other industrial waste
t 534 649 1,116 895 898 +0.3%
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Other industrial waste


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling, thermal recovery or landfill.
Hazardous wastes
t 30,928 51,476 55,369 59,608 46,251 -22.4%
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Hazardous wastes


Heavily contaminated spoil
t 15,834 33,200 39,570 39,616 33,989 -14.2%
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Heavily contaminated spoil


Footnote

Waste disposal: landfill.
Contaminated old wood (wooden sleepers)
t 11,266 13,976 11,983 16,477 9,098 -44.8%
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Contaminated old wood (wooden sleepers)


Footnote

Waste disposal: thermal recovery.
Cleaning residue
t 1,067 866 852 880 773 -12.2%
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Cleaning residue


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling, thermal recovery or landfill.
Chemicals
t 951 1,335 895 654 313 -52.2%
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Chemicals


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Waste disposal: recycling or thermal recovery.
Used oil, transformer oil
t 570 746 736 614 683 +11.3%
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Used oil, transformer oil


Footnote

Waste disposal: thermal recovery.
Slurry
t 559 769 733 599 594 -0.8%
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Slurry


Footnote

Waste disposal: thermal recovery.
Accumulators, batteries
t 354 265 276 364 421 +15.5%
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Accumulators, batteries


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling.
Contaminated containers
t 50 44 49 51 58 +12.0%
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Contaminated containers


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling or thermal recovery.
Other hazardous waste
t 277 275 276 353 323 -8.3%
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Other hazardous waste


Footnote

Waste disposal: recycling, thermal recovery or landfill.
Public refuse
t 9,621 9,878 10,782 12,047 12,904 +7.1%
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Public refuse


Footnote

Volume of waste sent by SBB for disposal.

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Combustible waste
t 8,664 8,989 9,857 10,963 10,293 -6.1%
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Combustible waste


Footnote

Volume of waste sent by SBB for thermal recovery.
Paper, cardboard
t 489 444 345 416 350 -15.8%
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Paper, cardboard


Footnote

Collected and reused by type.
Glass
t 46 35 59 78 190 +144.6%
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Glass


Footnote

Collected and reused by type.
PET
t 302 274 359 407 1,889 +364.5%
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PET


Footnote

Collected and reused by type.
Aluminium
t 120 135 162 184 182 -0.7%
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Aluminium


Footnote

Collected and reused by type.