Train: ADEME 🇫🇷

High‑Level Description

  • ADEME (French Agency for Ecological Transition) provides a comprehensive methodology to assess the environmental impacts of train travel.

  • Coverage spans the full lifecycle (vehicle and infrastructure production, operations, maintenance, and end‑of‑life).

  • Key drivers include train type (high‑speed, mainline, local/express), traction/fuel (electricity vs. diesel), grid mix, and infrastructure allocation.

  • Intended users: railway operators, policymakers, aggregators, and product teams who need transparent, audit‑ready train CO₂e estimates.


API Request (Sample)

{
  "expand": ["items"],
  "items": [
    {
      "type": "train",
      "external_reference": "test_2",
      "origin": "BER",
      "destination": "FRA",
      "number_of_travelers": 3,
      "train_type": "mainline",
      "fuel_type": "diesel",
      "methodology": "ADEME"
    }
  ]
}

API Request Items

  • "type": "train" (required)

  • "methodology": "ADEME" (required)

  • "external_reference": A unique identifier linking results to the requested item. Max length: 128 chars.

  • "number_of_travelers": Minimum 1. Default: 1.

  • "origin": Origin location (see Origin/Destination Formats below).

  • "destination": Destination location (see Origin/Destination Formats below).

  • "distance_in_km": If provided, this value is prioritized over origin/destination. If both are present, distance_in_km is used.

  • "train_type": One of high_speed, mainline, local_express. Default: local_express.

  • "fuel_type": One of diesel, electricity. Default: diesel.

Default Values

{
  "fuel_type": "diesel",
  "train_type": "local_express",
  "number_of_travelers": 1
}

Origin/Destination Formats (Enriched)

SQUAKE will try to resolve the origin/destination regardless of its format. Ideally:

  • Addresses: Use the Post standard.

  • Airports: Use IATA/ICAO code (regex: ^[A-Z]{3,4}$, e.g., "MUC").

  • Ports/Trade locations: Use UN/LOCODE (regex: ^[A-Z]{2}\W?[A-Z2-9]{3}$, e.g., "DEHAM").

  • Coordinates: Pass latitude/longitude (regex: ^[-+]?\d{1,3}\.\d{1,10}\s?,\s?[-+]?\d{1,3}\.\d{1,10}$, e.g., "+40.712,-74.006").

UIC and Provider Codes for Trains

  • UIC code is also a valid format for trains. If the value is not valid, the system will fallback to general, non‑journey‑specific emission data.

  • When you want to use a UIC or provider code, use the following format:

    • <provider>:<uic_code> (e.g., sncf:FRAAA)

  • Possible provider prefixes:

    • uic

    • uic8_sncf

    • sncf

    • sncf_tvs

    • entur

    • db

    • busbud

    • distribusion

    • flixbus

    • cff

    • leoexpress

    • obb

    • trenitalia

    • trenitalia_rtvt

    • trenord

    • ntv_rtiv

    • ntv

    • hkx

    • renfe

    • atoc

    • benerail

    • westbahn

Examples

// Using UIC/provider code
{
  "type": "train",
  "methodology": "ADEME",
  "origin": "db:8011160",        // Berlin Hbf (example code structure)
  "destination": "db:8000105",   // Frankfurt (Main) Hbf (example code structure)
  "number_of_travelers": 2
}

// Using UN/LOCODEs (for multimodal contexts)
{
  "type": "train",
  "methodology": "ADEME",
  "origin": "DEBER",             // Berlin (city code example)
  "destination": "DEFRA",        // Frankfurt (city code example)
  "number_of_travelers": 1
}

// Using coordinates
{
  "type": "train",
  "methodology": "ADEME",
  "origin": "+52.525,13.369",
  "destination": "+50.110,8.682",
  "number_of_travelers": 1
}

Notes

  • If both origin/destination and distance_in_km are provided, distance_in_km is used for emissions.

  • Invalid, unsupported, or unresolvable location codes will trigger a fallback to generic (non‑journey‑specific) factors consistent with ADEME.


Sample API Response

{
  "carbon_quantity": 6669,
  "carbon_unit": "gram",
  "items": [
    {
      "carbon_quantity": 6669,
      "carbon_unit": "gram",
      "external_reference": "test_2",
      "type": "train",
      "methodology": "ADEME",
      "distance": 435.0,
      "distance_unit": "kilometer"
    }
  ]
}

Bibliography

  • GHG information for transport services (June 2019). Ministère de la Transition Écologique et Solidaire. URL: https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/Information_GES%20-%202019.pdf

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