Are trains environmentally friendly?

Question

It would seem that public transportation has helped out with environmental issues, but do trains in general (commuter or freight) have low emissions and so on?

Answer 1

There is a bigger picture, elements of which are often overlooked when considering rail transportation and environmental issues.  None the least of which is roadbed.

A single rail line, even if cut through a forest, takes much, much less room than even a two lane highway, let alone four lanes or more.  Further, in areas where chemicals or salt is used for ice abatement on roadways, they become part of the run-off in spring thaws and eventually wash into waterways.

In addition, where there is a higher degree of potential pollution, such as in fueling facilities or where automatic "curve greasers" are in place, absorbent material is placed underneath and changed as necessary to catch as much offending material as possible.  The ballast along the way is itself a filter.  On the highway, all the dirt, oil, grease, bits of rubber and grime washes into the waterways.

Extrapolating further, when compared to freight moved by roadway, there is the wear and tear that comes along with the many trucks, repairs for which are off set to only a small degree by vehicle lisence or user fees, with the excess eventually paid for by tax payers.  Railroads build and maintain their own right of way.

Used tires are becoming problematic as well, in some areas of the country.

So, yes, the efficiency realized by train operation, when considered coupled with other issues (or abatement thereof) is extremely friendly to the environment, as well as public coffers, when considering alternative modes of transportation for either bulk commodities, finished goods or passengers.

Answer 2

Any train is environmentally UNfriendly.  It is just that they can haul so much tonnage per gallon of fuel that makes them seem to be friendly.

Answer 3

With high fuel prices and concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, trains have emerged as a "green" form of transportation.  They still harm the environment--but much less so than other forms of transportation.  

Trains (especially freight) are incredibly fuel efficient.  A single train can haul as much cargo as 300 trucks, and they are anywhere from 3 to 10 times as fuel efficient.  The common figure is that one gallon of diesel fuel will get one ton of cargo 400 miles on a train--so it's like a vehicle the size of a family car getting 250 miles per gallon.  New locomotives are being produced that meet more stringent emissions standards.

Passenger trains don't have as big an efficiency advantage as freight trains, but they are still more efficient than a plane or a car.

The reason trains are efficient is because a) the tracks are relatively flat, and b) steel wheels on steel rails have extremely low rolling resistance.  It's possible for a couple of people to move a 200-ton locomotive just by pushing on it.