News

The Luxembourg Rail Protocol A key part of the sustainable development agenda

10th September 2019

The Rail Working Group has today published a paper demonstrating how the Luxembourg Rail Protocol to the Cape Town Convention can play an important role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.  The core argument of the report, “Promoting sustainable growth and combating global climate change: How the Luxembourg Rail Protocol to the Cape Town Convention supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals”, is that rail-based transportation networks are an essential catalyst for development as the most environmentally and economically efficient way to transport goods and people. By enabling and encouraging private sector funding for railway rolling stock, the Luxembourg Rail Protocol will contribute towards the growth of a much larger and more dynamic rail sector on every continent, which will be especially critical in those developing countries and regions currently struggling with a very limited rail network.

“The railways play an essential role in achieving the sustainable development goals, and in particular fighting climate change” said RWG Chairman Howard Rosen. “There needs to be a dramatic increase in procurement of rolling stock around the world,  with the new technology that it brings, but state resources are limited and this is where the Luxembourg Rail Protocol will play its part, making it easier and cheaper to attract capital from commercial and institutional investors,” he continued.  

The detailed report may be accessed here