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> CO2 emissions are up to 30x higher by air OK, but let's not overstate things. These numbers suggest it's typically a factor of 10 or less for normal (low-sp
by jessriedel 8y ago
> CO2 emissions are up to 30x higher by air
OK, but let's not overstate things. These numbers suggest it's typically a factor of 10 or less for normal (low-speed) trains.
https://www.seat61.com/CO2flights.htm https://www.seat61.com/CO2flights.htm
Given the scaling of air resistance with speed, I expect that for high-speed trains the ratio is significantly less, maybe ~5. (Better number welcome.) Once you factor in the larger upfront energy costs of rail infrastructure, trains still do better in terms of carbon output, but only after a lot of usage.
https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2011/11/how-green-high-speed-rail/492/ https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2011/11/how-green-hig...
- mikeash 8y agoThat depends entirely on how your electricity is generated, right? For example, French trains presumably do a lot better than merely 10x.
- microcolonel 8y agoDepends on how many passengers are on the train. Here in Ontario, the provincial trains along the busiest corridor in the province (probably the country) are, anecdotally, about 5% full per average unit distance travelled, even at peak times in the busiest legs of the corridor, you're likely to see about a fifth of the seats empty. I doubt the GO train's passenger load factor is as good as AmTrak, for example.
- jessriedel 8y agoAgreed, though my impression is that most of the highest speed trains are in Japan, which nationally runs roughly 80% on fossil fuels. And per Carbon Engineering, it also depends on how your hydrocarbon fuel is generated too :)
- Gibbon1 8y agoWhack thing about Japan and fossil fuels is it's totally untapped geothermal.