Travalyst will add Squake’s rail emissions methodology to its data hub as part of efforts to “unify” the industry around a single, open-source approach, the sustainable travel coalition announced on Monday (21 September).
Emissions data specialist Squake developed the Rail Emissions Methodology (REM) and committed to expanding its use when it joined Travalyst earlier this year.
Other coalition members include Amadeus, BCD Travel, Booking.com, Mastercard, Sabre, Travelport and Visa. Established in 2019 by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Travalyst aims to provide “trusted” travel data as a way of making the sector more sustainable.
REM will be made freely available through Travalyst’s Data Hub, although a specific publication date has not been disclosed. Travalyst described the move as “a significant step”, following its adoption of Google’s Travel Impact Model (TIM) for flight emissions in 2022.
Travalyst CEO Julie Cheetham said: “By aligning our coalition partners and the wider industry around one trusted, credible, and consistent rail emissions measurement methodology, we’re providing much needed clarity and transparency to a historically fragmented landscape. Now, travel management platforms and travellers themselves will be able to make trusted, more informed decisions that help accelerate a lower-carbon future for the sector.”
What is REM?
Squake has spent the past 18 months developing REM to provide an “apples to apples” comparison framework for rail emissions data, which remains highly fragmented across operators and countries.
The framework addresses this fragmentation through a tiered hierarchy. It prioritises operator-published data where available, followed by an estimate based on the operator’s traction mix, an official national rail figure, an estimate modelled on energy use and, finally, a global average.
Squake CEO and founder Philipp von Lamezan said the model is “in constant evolution”. The goal is to “stress test” the framework with the market, gain operational experience and identify weaknesses before pursuing formal ISO assurance and accreditation.
“The conversation around travel-related CO2 emissions has evolved and most corporates now understand that any prediction-based methodology will come closer and closer to the actual journey at some stage,” he said. “REM is about comparing apples with apples and trying to get those apple calculations as accurate as possible and as close to reality as possible.”
Von Lamezan said the framework will undergo quarterly reviews to ensure the methodology remains up to date. Interested parties can request access to the underlying data sources and, moving forward, will receive push notifications alerting them to updates.
Although Squake has carried out most of the work to develop the model, von Lamezan said it will remain open source and free of charge.
“Methodologies should be free. We need to put an end to the ‘bingo’ of who has the best methodology and unite behind one consistent approach,” he said. “This is greater than Squake. The Travalyst coalition, which has its own advisory partners and review mechanisms, trusts that REM is the right way forward to create an industry standard.”
What REM means for corporate travel
As corporates increasingly explore shifting travel from air to rail to reduce emissions, REM could provide clearer data to support corporate CO2 reporting.
BCD Travel, a Travalyst member and existing Squake partner, plans to integrate REM into its TripSource Insights platform in 2027.
Olivia Ruggles-Brise, BCD’s vice president of sustainability, said client demand for rail emissions data remains “nascent” but will grow as regulatory and audit requirements increase.
“Aviation is still front and centre of every corporate travel programme's emissions reduction plan, but as we enter into a reporting environment that's more governed by regulations and audits, the requirement for better data is growing,” she told BTN Europe in a recent interview.
“One of the good things about [Travalyst adopting REM] is that it is starting when [demand] is still nascent. So, there is an opportunity for [the model] to evolve and grow as the requirements grow. Rather than, as has been the case with air travel emissions, having to retrofit. With air, we started with DEFRA [calculations] and now there are other options, which are much better, but a lot of [companies] are still using DEFRA… So, this is good timing… and hopefully it can really become an industry-agreed approach.
While welcoming the move, Ruggles-Brise warned travel managers not to get “bogged down” in rail emissions data.
“The real message is that you don't need data to tell you that rail emits a lot less CO2 than flying. If travel managers want to reduce emissions, they need to be looking at how they can shift from air to rail in those cases where it's appropriate and what support they need to be able to do that.”