Brake blocks

The European Commission is seeking to introduce stricter requirements on quiet rail sections to reduce the noise from freight wagons. The requirement will mean that existing freight wagons with cast-iron brake blocks will have to be equipped with composite brake blocks or disc brakes. The requirements will enter force in December 2024. Germany and Switzerland chose to comply with the legal requirement by 2021 and, as of 13 December 2020, no wagons with cast-iron brake blocks were allowed to operate in these countries.

Stricter requirements

The European Commission is seeking to introduce stricter requirements on quiet rail sections to reduce the noise from freight wagons, as the noise from freight wagons with cast-iron brake blocks was deemed to lead to serious health problems and costs for society. The requirement will mean that existing freight wagons with cast-iron brake blocks will have to be equipped with composite brake blocks or disc brakes. The requirements will enter force in December 2024. Germany and Switzerland chose to comply with the legal requirement by 2021 and, as of 13 December 2020, no wagons with cast-iron brake blocks were allowed to operate in these countries. Exemptions may be possible under certain conditions and we have submitted an application for exemption, which is currently being processed.

To fulfill the upcoming legal requirements, more and more European wagons are being equipped with composite brake blocks. In some of our train sets operated by Green Cargo, both internationally and within Sweden, most of the wagons are equipped with composite brake blocks. The proportion of these wagons is so substantial that we, as a company, must take the composite brake blocks into consideration now that winter is coming.

Composite brake blocks do not brake as efficiently in winter climates

It has been shown that composite brake blocks do not deliver the expected braking performance in real-life Nordic winter conditions, which creates challenges for us as a freight company, in terms of the technical and operational safety of our employees, which in turn entails that we must adapt our production when winter conditions prevail, in order to create safe freight transportation. Friction can deteriorate in certain types of weather, such as snow, and we must now prepare for the fact that more trains than in previous years may have to reduce their speed due to significantly lower braking capacity.

Nordic advocacy work

In Sweden, Norway and Finland, government authorities and rail companies have worked hard with the EU, to prove the major disadvantages that the conversion to composite brake blocks will entail for rail in the Nordic region. Throughout the legislative process, the trade organization Tågföretagen has persistently opposed excessively intrusive regulation, not only on the grounds of increased costs, but above all, because of the deteriorated braking capacity during winter and risks to traffic safety.

What does this mean for our customers?

As a freight company, we currently have train sets that comprise wagons equipped with composite brake blocks that do not deliver the braking capacity required for Nordic winter conditions, which means that we may have to adapt our production. Under certain conditions, with more wagons equipped with composite brake blocks, we may need to operate shorter and lighter trains, and consequently, more trains. In some cases, we will have to change the composition of the trains in order to provide the entire train set with a safe braking capacity when winter conditions prevail. We can do this by combining wagons with composite blocks with wagons with cast-iron brake blocks. This work may result in more shunting work. Lower braking capacity may result in lower permissible speeds for our trains, which, in some cases, could result in longer lead times. However, we have established a separate work process related to this situation, in order to minimize disruption for our customers. In addition, Green Cargo is testing various alternatives as solutions to present-day cast-iron brake blocks.

Which customers will this impact the most?

The customers who will be the most impacted by this development are those with a large proportion of exports/imports and thus utilize foreign or private wagons that serve Sweden and continental Europe.