Following the fourth data collection cycle for the UIC sustainability benchmarking tool, participants have now received their new score and personal Rail Sustainability Index (RSi) reports.

UIC members take part for a variety of reasons, with many using the tool internally to help review and improve their sustainability strategies. By identifying their strengths and weaknesses, members can target actions for improvement. Others also use their RSi badge externally to demonstrate their sustainability credentials to stakeholders, including to their investors.

Together, we can build a sustainable vision for rail by highlighting all of the decisions, projects, and policies implemented around the world, and demonstrate just how urgent and necessary the modal shift to rail is. We already have participants from around the world; however, we need to increase participation further in order to strengthen our position.

All UIC members are invited to join the RSi project, which is available free of charge and exclusively for their use. By participating in RSi and sharing your data, you will receive a personalised score, a badge and access to a dashboard, all handled with full confidentiality. You may then choose how to use these outputs, whether for internal communication, external press releases, or sustainability reporting.

Participants are also encouraged to share best practices for each of the selected Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to strengthen the position of rail and to benefit from mutual learning across the sector.

Presentation of the badge certificate
During a training event in Seoul, Lucie Anderton, UIC Sustainability Director, personally presented the badge certificate to Kwon Ki-dong, Director of International Cooperation at KORAIL, saying “By increasing its score to manager level in RSi 2025, the Korean passenger and freight operator has demonstrated continued progress in strengthening its sustainability performance across key areas. The company is advancing its 2050 Carbon Neutral Roadmap and participating in Korea’s K-RE100 initiative, contributing to global rail decarbonisation efforts.”

Insights and calls for further participation

• The Serbian Infrastructure Manager (IZS), invites other companies from the Western Balkan region to join RSi, following its own first-time participation.
  A high score was achieved through the implementation of policies and practices in the areas of gender equality and the economic empowerment of women, through an established legal framework for preventing labour and financial discrimination, as well as increased representation of women in leadership positions (SDG 5). A significant contribution was also made through the implementation of occupational health and safety policies (SDG 8), supported by the long-standing commitment of the HR Manager to advancing gender equality.
• Trains of Portugal (CP) has participated in the last three campaigns and has improved its score each time. This provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the progress made and the growing importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and SDG-related topics within the company.
• Italo, the Italian high-speed operator, has actively participated in RSi from the outset. This long-term commitment is reflected in the continuous improvement of its overall performance across the four campaigns.
• Dutch Railways (NS), participating for the second time, achieved the maximum score for SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy), and SDG9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure), as well as obtaining a good score for SDG5 (Gender equality) and SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production).
• The Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE), having participated in the last three campaigns, maintained a very high score, achieving maximum results for SDG 9 and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and strong performance in SDG 7 and SDG 12.
• The Slovenian Railways (SŽ) has participated in all of the campaigns and significantly improved its score in 2025. The Safety Index, calculated by the UIC Safety Working Group and only applicable to infrastructure managers, showed a marked improvement, reflecting a reduction in incidents and accidents on the Slovenian tracks. Strong results were also recorded for SDG 7 and SDG 11.

Next campaign
The next RSi campaign will be launched in mid-June 2026 and will close in mid-October 2026. Results and scores will be available in January 2027.