Fact sheet Why travelling by rail is better for the environment …

Fact sheet
Why travelling by rail is better
for the environment

Despite the recent problems faced by the rail industry, passenger numbers have displayed a rapid increase in
the last few years, this is partly due to the booming economy but also the worsening congestion on our roads.
The consequences of relentlessly increasing road traffic are adverse effects on human health and both the
local and global environment. Although railways still have environmental impacts they are considerably less
than both road and air travel. A substantial shift of passengers and freight from road and air to rail would
benefit everyone through reduced congestion and less damage to the environment.

Climate change - Personal Travel
All motorised transport produces Carbon Dioxide (CO2) one of the so called "greenhouse gases" that
contribute to climate change. Trains are an energy-efficient carrier of people and goods and hence produce
relatively less CO2 emissions per passenger than other modes. Travelling by rail reduces your contribution to
climate change. Emissions of CO2 per passenger/Km are, on average, approximately half that of travel by car1.
In 1998 rail produced only 1% of the U.K's total emissions, road transport meanwhile accounted for 23% 2

Climate change - Freight Transport
The majority of our freight in the UK travels by road. Switching some of this to rail would result in a dramatic
reduction in CO2 emissions. Carrying freight by rail results in an 80% cut in CO2 emissions per Kilogram
carried compared to road haulage.3

Public Health
Up to 24,000 vulnerable people are estimated to die prematurely each year because of poor air-quality and
transport is a major contributor to this problem through engine exhaust emissions4. Although rail carries 7%
of U.K traffic it emits only 0.2% of Carbon Monoxide, 2% of Nitrous Oxide, 1% of Volatile Organic
Compounds and 2.5% of Sulphur Dioxide emissions5. Electric trains are also pollution free at point of use,
and do not contribute to localised air quality problems in urban centres. Electricity can also be generated by
emission free renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

Saving Energy
Rail is a relatively energy efficient transport mode. Rail transport uses far less energy per passenger kilometer
than road. A rail passenger travelling by high speed train, even at 200Km/hr, typically uses only 0.8 - 1.0 MJ
of energy compared to 1.4 - 2.8MJ for a car driver/passenger6. In 1999 UK road transport consumed 80 times
as much energy as rail, while the distance travelled by road passengers and freight was only 15 times as
much7.

Noise
Road noise affects the quality of life of many people in the UK, as a result, 32 million residents are exposed to
greater than 55dB, the comparative figure for rail being only 1 million8. In its 1980 recommendations The
World Health Organisation stated:- "a level of less than 35dB is recommended to preserve the restorative
process of sleep"9. The cost of noise damage from road traffic in the UK is 25 times that of rail10.

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   Safety
   Despite recent accidents rail is still a far safer mode of transport than road: you are 9 times more likely to be
   killed travelling by private car and 2.5 times more likely by air11.

   Less Lorries
   Lorries are a major source of noise, vibration and harmful particulates in the form of black smoke emissions,
   one freight train can carry 1000 tonnes of freight replacing 50 lorry movements12.

   Environmental Cost
   It has long been recognised that road users do not pay the true financial cost of the environmental damage that
   they cause. A recent consultants report calculated that the costs of environmental damage, accidents and
   congestion per passenger kilometre travelled are 3-10 times higher for road than for rail13.

   Space Saving
   Britain is a crowded island with the 3rd highest population density in the EU14. Rail makes more efficient use
   of space: a double track railway can carry up to 10 times the number of people per hour than a 2-lane road15.

   Visual Intrusion
   Despite recent improvements in the landscaping of new roads, railways are far less visually intrusive. Much of
   the rail network, constructed in the 19th century has had time to blend in to the landscape and in many cases
   arguably, actually enhances it.


   Notes:
   1.Railtrack - "Benefits of rail"
   2. DETR - "Transport Statistics" 1998 edition
   3. The Railway Forum - "Rail and the Environment"
   4. DETR - "A New Deal For Transport" 1998
   5. The Railway Forum - "Rail and the Environment"
   6. The Railway Forum - "Rail and the Environment"
   7. DETR - "Transport Statistics" 2000 edition
   8. The Railway Forum - "Rail and the Environment"
   9. WHO - "Guidelines for Community Noise"
   10. The Railway Forum - "Rail and the Environment"
   11. Rail Safety - "Annual Safety Report" 2000/1
   12. The Railway Forum - "Rail and the Environment"
   13. The Railway Forum - "The Wider Impacts Of Rail And Road
   Investment"
   14.Whitakers - 2000 Edition
   15. The Railway Forum - "Rail and the Environment"

                                                                       grams/passengerKm
                                                                       Source:- EU - "Transport in Figures 2000"




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