On 3-4 March 2026, the UIC Opt-in Eco Energy programme held its penultimate meeting at the UIC Headquarters in Paris, bringing together representatives from the Italian Railway Network (RFI), Infrabel, the Spanish Railway Infrastructure Manager (ADIF), the University of Toulouse Laplace, and UIC. The final session is scheduled for June and will feature a highly anticipated International Rail Solution (IRS) focused on rail energy savings.
While the terms eco and energy are widely used, within UIC they refer to a concrete, results-driven approach. Electrified railways are already among the most energy efficient modes of transport, yet UIC’s goal is to help its members go further by reducing losses, optimising fixed installations, and modernising traction power supply systems.
Following an initial Europe-wide overview of energy use and related infrastructure, UIC has brought together leading experts in electrical traction power supply from European infrastructure managers. Their work has focused on practical, high-impact topics such as reducing losses in low-voltage DC systems through modern power electronics and improving performance by increasing system voltage.
At the heart of this opt-in are proven technologies: power-electronic converters such as rectifiers, inverters, phase-controlled rectifiers, and frequency converters all of which already in use across many networks today. The programme is therefore not about theoretical concepts but rather scalable solutions that infrastructure managers can implement to significantly improve energy efficiency.
These solutions also open the door to greater integration of renewable energy into railway systems and to stronger interconnections between electrical networks (railway and non-railway). This is a key task to enhance overall energy reliability and availability, as it may become both increasingly complex and less stable over time due to the growing share of renewables.
Through the Opt-in Eco Energy Project, UIC is helping to prepare the future: sharing best practices, accelerating adoption of mature solutions, and giving its members early access to the approaches that will shape tomorrow’s standards.
