An eco-friendly fleet of OTMs is being developed in Ireland.
Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group Ireland has converted the on-track machine (OTM) fleet it operates from a hydrocarbon-based oil to a more environmentally friendly alternative.
The conversion comes after the company took a major step last year in reducing CO2 emissions by converting the OTMs to run on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). Rhomberg Sersa operates and maintains the OTM fleet on behalf of Iarnród Éireann – Irish Rail (IÉ).
In recent months the fleet of 14 operational OTMs were converted from hydrocarbon based oil to Panolin. Panolin is the brand name of a synthetic lubricant which is made from ‘esters’. Esters are created through the chemical reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol.
A clean product, Panolin has a number of major benefits:
- It has a life cycle of up to seven years meaning less consumption
- As it needs to be replaced less often, there is less labour required on the OTMs
- It is biodegradable therefore reducing environmental impact should there be a spill
The virtuous cycle continues as less oil changes meansthere is less manual handling and simpler logistics.Although Panolin is more expensive than fossil based engine oil, overall there is a net gain, particularly from an environmental side.
The transition to Panolin is part of an ongoing programme in across RSRG to reduce hydrocarbon use and therefore cut out greenhouse gas emissions. The previous year the fleet in Ireland was converted from diesel to HVO. Irish Rail has calculated that the conversion of the OTMs to HVO will result in emission savings of 148,000kg of CO2 annually compared to the continued use of diesel, a 90% reduction in OTM carbon emissions.
The changes fit not only with the wider RSRG Climate Action Plan, but also with the Irish Rail Climate Action Plan. Irish Rail is working to reduce its emissions by 51% by 2030.
