The railway is usually portrayed as the CO2 saviour, not a CO2 carrier. Yet, carbon dioxide gas is also a commodity that can be transported by rail. It does not represent huge volumes. Thus it is a perfect example of how single-wagon transport can work. Based on a recent agreement between Rail Cargo Hungaria (RCH) and Linde Gas, the company can save CO2 emissions by shifting 30% of its annual CO2 transport volume from road to rail.
To enable this, RCH has procured 30 additional tank wagons. The company moves it from the Répcelak Linde Gas site to various customers in Budapest, north-east Hungary and abroad. Carbon dioxide is used as a raw material in hospitals, for soft drinks and horticulture production, and in the pharmaceutical industry. Shifting CO2 transport to rail eliminates the high safety risk of moving these goods by road.
The Hungarian government supports single-wagon transport in the country with more than a 16.7 million EUR subsidy for a period of five years. It enables to partly compensate the costs of the shunting locomotives, shunting staff, and the additional operating costs of the marshalling yards. Among over 700 Hungarian companies benefitting from this scheme, companies are moving wood, scrap, dangerous goods and chemicals, paper and cellulose, and mineral oils in the single-wagon transport scheme with this subsidy.
