Carbon dioxide emissions of coal fired steam locomotives on Austrian railways and fuel adaptations in times of energy crisis and climate policy

Abstract

This Master’s thesis examines the carbon dioxide emissions of coal-fired steam operations on Austrian heritage and touristic railways, discusses problems in procurement, storage, and quality of coal, and gives an overview of the status of experience, current operation, and plans of alternative firing methods. The shift away from coal as an energy source due to climate change mitigation efforts and the global energy crisis are making bituminous coal more difficult to procure. This results in poor quality and high prices, putting pressure on steam operators, and creating challenges for the future. Two possible alternative firing methods to provide similar performance discussed in this thesis are oil firing and the use of biomass-based coal substitutions with similar energy density. While conversion to oil firing involves a high financial outlay and does not immediately solve the emissions problem, biomass-based coal substitutions require further development until they are ready for large scale production. The data was collected for all 25 Austrian heritage and touristic railways operating with steam locomotives and was divided into a quantitative and qualitative part. Missing data were compensated by research and an extrapolation included railways, where the steam operation was cancelled in the year 2022 due to irregularities. The total carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired steam locomotive operations in Austria are approximately 3,000 tons per year. Problems in procurement, storage and quality of coal were experienced by a majority of the organizations, while only a minority had experimental or operational experience with alternative firing methods or plans for conversion.