Swiss trains to experiment with lower carriage temperatures to save energy

GENEVA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Swiss Federal Railways said Monday it is experimenting with lowering temperatures by two degrees in selected trains in the Zurich area in a bid to save energy and the environment.

The heat will drop from 22 to 20 degrees Celsius, Swissinfo, the website of the Swiss national broadcaster said.

The trains concerned will carry signs to alert passengers of the test.

Although only limited trains running through the city's suburbs are concerned, positive results could be rolled out more widely across the country, Federal Railways said.

The trial takes its cue from guidelines published by SuisseEnergie, a government-backed organization working to promote environmental awareness, which puts the optimum room temperature at 20 degrees Celsius.

Federal Railways said that if such a reduction was to be rolled out across all trains in the Zurich area, the energy saved would amount to 1.6GWh -- the equivalent of the annual consumption of 400 households.

The experiment comes as Switzerland's rail network, which is one of the world's busiest, looks for ways to secure funding, become more efficient, and environmentally friendly.

The current trial will start Tuesday and run until Feb. 9. Enditem