The Ecosystem Valuation for Railways (ECOV4R) Project has successfully come to a close and published the ECOV4R Framework alongside two pilot assessments, marking a milestone for integrating ecosystem services into railway infrastructure planning, design, and management.
The ECOV4R Framework provides a structured and reproducible methodology to assess and, where feasible, monetise the positive and negative impacts of railway infrastructure on ecosystem services, supporting decision-making, business cases, and sustainability reporting.
Click here to download the ECOV4R Framework
The methodology was tested through two pilot applications:
- A prospective assessment on the Cotswold Line (UK) exploring natural flood management and railway resilience
Click here to download the UK ECOV4R Pilot Assessment – Network Rail
- A retrospective assessment on a section of the Palencia–León high-speed line (Spain) evaluating ecosystem service benefits from mitigation measures
Click here to download the Spain ECOV4R Pilot Assessment – ADIF
The closing webinar “Railway Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services” presented the results of three years of collaborative work, with contributions from experts from AtkinsRéalis, eftec, Network Rail, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), the Spanish railway infrastructure manager ADIF, and UIC. The session highlighted how ecosystem service valuation can support resilient, evidence-based, and nature-positive railway infrastructure.
The webinar recordings are now available on the ECOV4R project page, together with the published reports and supporting material.
UIC would like to thank all ECOV4R project members for their vital contributions to the development of the Framework and pilot applications.
Building on these results, the Sustainable Land Use Sector will continue this work under the ACORN initiative with more than 20 UIC members worldwide to further make progress on ecosystem services, biodiversity indicators, and sustainable land management across railways.
