Hydrogeological instability mitigation projects

Italy is a country markedly prone to natural disasters, a situation that has been aggravated in recent years by the increasingly dramatic effects of climate change, so transport infrastructure security plays a critical role in ensuring the safety, continuity and sustainability of the service.

Running through mountainous, hilly and coastal areas, the railway infrastructure is particularly exposed to the risk of hydrogeological instability (including landslides, floods and coastal erosion).

Therefore, Italferr, the engineering company of FS Group, is committed to designing measures that can mitigate hydrogeological instability and protect railway lines, to ensure a more resilient, durable and safer infrastructure, capable of adapting to the changing climate and landscape conditions, thereby indirectly reducing the environmental impact associated with the various stages of its life cycle.

An approach based on Life Cycle Thinking

Consistently with its vision of sustainable design, Italferr also applies Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) in these areas, to analyse infrastructure works throughout their life cycle, from design to construction and maintenance, and assess their environmental, social and economic impact in an integrated manner. This approach translates into a conscious and proactive management of railway infrastructure, which is not limited to ensuring immediate safety, but aims to build resilience and value over time, through projects designed to reduce their environmental impact and extend the useful life of the works.

Italferr also conducts specific carbon footprint analyses for hydrogeological instability mitigation projects, estimating CO₂e emissions related to the subsequent construction phases during the design phase.
Using an in-house estimation methodology compliant with ISO 14064:1, Italferr’s engineers adapt the CO₂ tariff, already in widespread use for railway and road projects, to instability mitigation works.

In this way, each work is specifically assessed in terms of its environmental sustainability, allowing for areas for improvement, in order to steer the subsequent design and construction phases towards more virtuous scenarios. In fact, the carbon footprint study identifies the main impact hotspots, promoting greater awareness in the subsequent design and construction phases and guiding towards good solutions and management practices.

Strengthening the railway network against natural disasters is not only a safety measure, but also an opportunity to improve the resilience of infrastructure and contribute to the overall decarbonisation of the transport system, as it:

• avoids potential disruptions in service, reducing the use of more polluting alternative means of transport;
• promotes the modal shift from road to rail, contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
• optimises management and maintenance, reducing materials and processing and the resulting environmental impacts associated with these stages of an infrastructure’s life;
• supports the energy transition, making rail transport a key and reliable component of sustainable mobility.

Thanks to an integrated approach, Italferr has demonstrated that infrastructure design can also become a means for taking care of the landscape, because preventing the risks associated with natural disasters means protecting people, communities, and the environment.

Applying analytical tools like the carbon footprint and Life Cycle Assessment allows us to design infrastructure works that both effectively respond to the challenges of the present and are ready to face those of the future, in accordance with the decarbonisation and climate resilience objectives of FS Italiane Group and the European Union.

Content by the Organizational Units 'Sustainability' and 'Hydrogeological Risk and Asset Enhancement'