Smart and Sustainable Infrastructure for Decarbonized Transport Systems

Dear Colleagues,

The sustainable development of transport systems—ensuring their reliable and continuous functioning while maintaining environmental protection and low carbon emissions—is presently a major challenge. In this context, the integration of new technologies, including intelligent and green solutions, plays an important role in the planning and management of transport systems, making it possible to keep pace with increasing environmental and functional requirements.

Decarbonization is the process of systematically reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of the economy, ultimately leading to climate neutrality. In transport, this means, among other things, abandoning fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency, using renewable energy, reducing emissions throughout the entire life cycle (i.e., the production–use–disposal cycle), and integrating public transport, cycling, and walking.

Pollution may be generated by different sources and, therefore, can have a range of different negative impacts—an interesting and very important means of tackling it is the adoption of an approach to the design, modernization, and management of transport infrastructure that minimizes CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions, utilizes (smart) digital technologies, is sustainable, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly, and supports the energy transformation of transport. Smart infrastructure is characterized by its use of IoT and sensors (monitoring traffic, road surface conditions, and bridges), ITSs (intelligent transport systems), AI and big data (e.g., for traffic optimization and failure prediction), V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication, digital twins, and simulation modelling for transport infrastructure with decarbonization as a central aim.

Apart from ensuring energy-efficient and environmentally friendly transport systems, providing citizens with reliable accessible and affordable transport systems, resilient to external perturbations and malfunctions, is also extremely important. Transport systems are often a key element of critical infrastructure and, therefore, ensuring their continuous and safe operation is vital.

Consequently, the infrastructure of the future must support electromobility (charging stations, smart grids, etc.), hydrogen transport, rail and public transport, micromobility, and low-emission logistics.

Original research articles and reviews are welcome as contributions to this Special Issue on “Smart and Sustainable Infrastructure for Decarbonized Transport Systems”, and research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Decarbonized transport systems;
• Intelligent green systems;
• Pollution and congestion reduction;
• Smart mobility;
• Smart infrastructure;
• Smart vehicles;
• ITS

Key issues and challenges include high initial costs, the lack of consistent standards, the integration of old and new systems, the availability of renewable energy, cybersecurity, social acceptance, reductions in CO₂ emissions, lower operating costs, improved quality of life in cities, greater infrastructure reliability, and compliance with EU policies.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Agnieszka Blokus-Dziula
Dr. Monika Ziemska-Osuch
Guest Editors

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• reduction in CO₂ emissions
• low-emission mobility lower operating costs
• transport system maintenance optimization improved quality of life in cities
• smart mobility and intelligent systems transport infrastructure reliability
• availability and safety