Denmark. Danish State Railways

The loan has been provided to DSB (Danish State Railways), to finance the acquisition of 42 electric locomotives and more than 100 train sets and coaches.

The investment is part of a ten-year programme to replace the company’s ageing fleet to improve the service and to curb CO₂ emissions down to zero by the year 2030. This represents a significant contribution to the Danish government’s carbon emission policy.

DSB is an independent, public state-owned enterprise under the Danish Ministry of Transport and Housing. It is the most important passenger traffic company in the country and provides regional train services, long-distance transport services and S-train services. The company’s total market share of rail traffic in Denmark amounts to approximately 75%.

Productivity:

The investment is part of DSB’s efforts to modernise and develop the rail transport sector in Denmark. Rail transport forms a strategic part of the country’s public infrastructure. The acquisition of a new, electric train fleet will provide additional capacity in response to urbanisation and population growth. Moreover, the investment is expected to increase reliability and service quality, and lead to reduced travel times.

Environment:

DSB’s fleet currently includes around 200 diesel locomotives and train sets. During 2020–2025, seventy of these will be phased out. The switch to electric locomotives alone will decrease the company’s direct scope 1 CO₂ emissions by some 27,000 tons annually. Emissions of NOx are expected to decrease by some 456 tons per year, and particle emissions are estimated to be reduced by 10 tons or 60%. Further positive impacts are expected with new train sets coming into operation.

Indicators for expected impact of the investment:

• Number of passengers per kilometre
• Number of journeys
• Reductions in travel time
• Reduction of CO₂ per year, split between scope 1 and scope 2 for rolling stock
• Reduction of NOx annually
• Increase in passenger volumes in persons/kilometre

No significant environmental aspects for the acquisition of rolling stock have been identified.