How Green are our Trains?

Question

Railway Magazine 5/08 explores the issues embedded in our railways wrr the environment.........

Answer 1

Greener than you would think...and getting better by the day.  Did you know the train engines have been "hybrid" engines for over 20 years!!!  And nut just that....there are even new engines out there they emit less exhuast.  And Amtrak has even won evironmental awards for the massive recycling and wast management system it has.\\

Answer 2

well not too many years ago all trains were "Steam" and burnt coal which is known to be the greatest polluter of the environment. But when all trains were steam nobody ever complained. Yet now trains have got rid of steam and switched to electric or diesel, so polluting atmosphere much less than they used to, everybody complains they are not green. So think we need to go back a bit further. Stage coaches used to be pulled by a team of horses? But if we change to them will the "animal rights" lobby start bellyaching?

Answer 3

I think they are blue!

Seriously now: im not sure... interesting question though!

Answer 4

To measure your question in terms of numbers, simply check out this neat carbon calculator designed by CSX Transportation, one of the largest railroads in the country.  All you have to do is throw in some numbers and it will calculate the fuel savings of shipping "x"-amount of freight on rails versus trucks.

Also, to answer your question, in general railroads are the "greenest" of all types of transportation as they can move more freight or passengers per fuel mile than anything else (trucks, planes, ships, etc.).

Answer 5

well many have been painted green!

Answer 6

Excellent question, a star for you.

Very green.

far and away the greenest most efficient, safest form of land-based transportation for people and the things people need.

A railroad can move more freight in a right of way 100 feet wide than 6 lanes of highway, far far less land usage.

Ever notice how long it takes to rebuild a stretch of highway?

It takes months and thousands of gallons in fuel and dozens of huge earth movers.

Compare that to a railroad which can completely rebuild a peice of track between trains using a small handful of equipment and every bit of the material is recyclable.

How many thousands of tons of truck tires do we discard each year?

A railcar wheel can last the life of a car which is many many times more than a truck trailer so the materials used last much much longer and are infinitly recyclable.

Railroads are much more efficient than any other land transportation in more ways then you can imagine.

Fewer hazardous spills per hundred thousand ton miles on rail traffic versus trucks, less deaths per hundred thousand ton miles also.

No city in the world has found increasing highway capacity to be an effective long term goal for congestion, eventually there isnt enough room for all the lanes needed.

In parts of south Florida they have given up trying to build highways with enough capacity, it just cant be done and they are tearing up highway lanes to build commuter rail lines.

As more and more people realize how self centered personal transportation is, trains are going to be more in the forefront of a global "green movement" for very good reason. I have heard that in parts of Europe, there are no truck based shipments allowed over certain distance limits.

I'm a bit surprised no one mentioned electric railways, which are even better, besides no diesel exhaust, the surplus electricity generated is fed back into the overhead lines instead of wasted as excess heat. Of course there is some pollution associated with generating electricity but it is a very efficient environmentally friendly way of moving things.

Answer 7

Often overlooked is the roadbed itself.  The land needed for a rail line is far, far less than two, four or more lanes of roadway for vehicular traffic.

Though there is no shortage of grease or oil around the railroad right of way, in most instances where there are "curve greasers" or "flange lubricators" are in place, a special absorbent material is laid underneath and changed out regularly to keep the grease contained.  Other pollutants are filtered out by the ballast, actually, whereas all the oil and grease and crud that cars and trucks put on the roadway, including salt or chemical means of ice abatement employed in winter months, washes into the waters wherever the run-off goes in rain storms.  Eventually, it winds up in the environment.

Trains are green, green, green, but getting even greener as there are already hybrid diesel electrics that run on batteries a portion of the time.  These are used in yard switcher operations.

Trucks have their place, though.  It's right on top of a flat car...

Answer 8

Greener than flying

As an example

Eurostar emits ten times less CO2 than flying to core destinations like paris, Brussels.

Before the  launch of the  Tread Lightly initiative in April 2007, Eurostar commissioned some detailed research to find out exactly how much CO2 is produced on a Eurostar journey.

The bottom line was that flying between London, Paris and Brussels generates ten times more emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than travelling by Eurostar.  

Trip/Mode

Short-haul air (average) Heathrow to Paris

122 kg CO2 per passenger trip (return)

R quivalent of charging 740 ipods

168 g CO2 per passenger km

Eurostar

10.9 kg CO2 per passenger trip (return)

11g CO2 per passenger km

Eurostar has also committed to generating even less CO2 per traveller in future years. In fact, Eurostar will reduce CO2 per traveller journey by 25% by the year 2012 compared to 2006.

Taking the train is now a truly attractive greener alternative to flying. Here are a few reasons why it’s now the most seamless way to travel through Europe.

High Speed 1, the new high speed line, runs straight into the heart of London, meaning faster journey times to and from the Continent. Eurostar has joined Railteam, a European partnership of high-speed operators, making connecting train travel in Europe even simpler, smoother and more seamless than ever.

Better still, UK travellers can now pay one fare to travel all the way from 68 UK domestic stations to 100s of Continental destinations. This will make taking the train from all parts of the UK to the Continent a much more attractive option.

Answer 9

Well when you consider that a train can move a ton of freight 400 miles on a gallon of diesel whereas a truck can only move it 59 miles they are using a lot less fossil fuel to move goods across the country.Also large strides have been made to make locomotive exhaust a lot cleaner burning.Consider too that a large  train can replace 300 trucks on the highways.That helps with congestion on the highways which could help reduce wasting gas sitting idling in traffic jams.For those reasons they are a lot greener that many people might realize!

I forgot to mention that GE has an Evolution hybrid road service locomotive that uses the excess power from the dynamic braking to recharge a bank of sodium chloride(salt) based batteries that then discharge to help feed the traction motors when in power.They are supposed to be in service in 2010.I had the prototype in a train last fall and according the the GE techs riding with me it will save thousands of gallons of fuel a year compared to their standard Evolution locomotive.