Publication · 9 Oct 2026

Railway-X Product Carbon Footprint Rulebook v1.1 released

A common methodology for comparable, transparent and interoperable Product Carbon Footprints across the railway supply chain.

One methodology for comparable carbon data

The Railway-X consortium has published version 1.1 of its Product Carbon Footprint Rulebook. The rulebook establishes a common methodological framework for calculating and exchanging cradle-to-gate Product Carbon Footprints across the railway supply chain.

The objective is simple but important: PCF values from different suppliers should be comparable. Differences should reflect the actual carbon performance of products and processes, not different interpretations of calculation rules.

From carbon reporting to better decisions

Rail vehicles and infrastructure products rely on complex, international and multi-tier supply chains. Materials, components and technologies come from many industries and regions, making consistent product-level greenhouse gas accounting challenging.

At the same time, production and upstream emissions are becoming increasingly important as railway operations move toward lower-carbon energy. More transparent and product-specific PCF data is therefore needed to support decarbonization, supplier comparison and procurement decisions.

The Railway-X Rulebook creates the common methodology required to exchange this information consistently across company and supply-chain boundaries.

What the Rulebook enables

  1. Comparable PCFs - Common rules reduce methodological differences between suppliers.
  2. Primary-data transparency - The Primary Data Share makes visible how much of a PCF is based on measured or supplier-specific information.
  3. Procurement integration - Comparable PCF values can support supplier and part selection alongside other procurement criteria.
  4. Interoperable exchange - Alignment with Manufacturing-X and Catena-X supports PCF exchange across industries and supply-chain tiers.

How the methodology fits together

  1. ISO 14040 / 14044 - Foundation for Life Cycle Assessment
  2. ISO 14067 - Cross-sector PCF standard
  3. Railway-X PCF Rulebook - Railway-specific requirements

Aligned with Manufacturing-X and closely following the Catena-X PCF approach to support cross-industry interoperability.

What is covered

The rulebook translates high-level carbon footprint standards into practical guidance for the railway supply chain. Key topics include:

  • Scope & system boundaries
  • Cut-off rules
  • Allocation
  • Prospective PCFs
  • Transportation
  • Waste & recycling
  • Electricity
  • Chain of custody
  • Commissioning & testing
  • Primary / secondary data
  • Primary Data Share
  • Data Quality Rating
  • PCF data exchange

Making better data visible

Railway-X aims to increase the use of primary data throughout the supply chain. The rulebook therefore defines a Primary Data Share (PDS), indicating the proportion of a PCF derived from primary data. It also provides a Data Quality Rating (DQR) based on technological, geographical and temporal representativeness.

This allows PCF recipients to understand not only the carbon footprint value itself, but also the quality and origin of the underlying information.

Downloads & links

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