Swiss startup Sun-Ways is leading an initiative to install solar panels along the country’s approximately 3,300 miles of railway. The company says that utilizing the rail network could supply nearly a third of the energy required by Switzerland’s transportation sector.
This could potentially offset around 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually — roughly equivalent to taking 50,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road.
However, the International Union of Railways has highlighted several potential safety issues with this plan. Reflections from the solar panels may impair train operators’ visibility and there is also the risk that the added infrastructure could increase fire hazards along the tracks.
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Critics have pointed to additional logistical challenges, such as the potential for solar panels to complicate track maintenance, suffer damage in the exposed locations, or face efficiency losses. The harder surfaces are also likely to make trains louder as they pass over the panels, causing an uptick in noise pollution.
These concerns contributed to an initial rejection of Sun-Ways’ project in 2023 by Switzerland’s Federal Office of Transport. The company revised its proposal to include additional safety documentation and resubmitted the plan, which then underwent another 10 months of review before authorities approved a pilot project to begin in 2025.
