Railway Sector in Euskadi

The invention of the steam engine by James Watt in the late 13th century and its application, both in the mechanisation of work and in the new rail transport systems, was the change lever that led to the First Industrial Revolution. Since then, the history of this means of transport has been linked to progress, allowing trade of goods and passenger transport between remote areas. Since then, companies in the rail industry have been able to keep up with the times through the adoption of the positive ignition engine and, finally, electrification. Regardless of technology, the rail system has always been linked to the concepts of reliability, sustainability and safety.

From the First Industrial Revolution, the development of railway has kept pace with economic development in Europe. This has made Europe one of the continents most densely connected by rail, being this one of the most important means of transport, with 6% of passenger and 10.3% of freight transport. Despite the global economic crisis we have suffered since 2008, rail transport has experienced one of the fastest growths means of transport, with the deployment of new rail infrastructures, among other things, to accommodate the demand of high speed. It is also expected that this growth will be maintained in the coming years, reaching relative growth rates of 79% between 2010 and 2050.

This report identifies five key areas that will determine the future of this sector and, approaching it from an environmental perspective, presents the alternatives and sectoral strategies to apply in order to face the challenge ahead. These are: the growth of emerging economies; the trend toward urbanisation and development of megacities; greater energy dependence due to a carbonbased economy; increased environmental awareness; and market liberalisation. As we can see, at least two of these aspects are linked to environmental challenges.