Interesting Facts
Rail is one of the world’s most sustainable modes of transportation. It enables lower energy consumption, decreased land usage, less congestion, fewer accidents and greater accessibility than other modes of transport. However, there is still more work ahead. At Bombardier, we are committed to taking further steps to protect the environment and create competitive advantages for our customers.
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- If European freight continues to be transported by truck, greenhouse gas emissions will increase by more than 40 per cent from 2000 to 2015. However, if only 40 per cent of total freight was carried by rail instead, there would be no increase in emissions.
- For every passenger-mile travelled, public transportation produces 95 per cent less carbon monoxide, more than 92 per cent fewer volatile organic compounds and nearly half as much carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides as private vehicles.
Source: Conserving Energy and Preserving the Environment: The Role of Public Transportation
American Pubic Transportation Association (APTA) - Railways are crucial to reducing greenhouse gas emission and to creating sustainable transport systems. Bringing about a modal shift from road to rail is the key to reaching the targets of the Kyoto Protocol and, at the same time, a sustainable global transport policy for the future.
Source: Railways and the Environment – Building on the railways’ environmental strengths
Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) & International Union of Railways (UIC)
Increasing Fuel and Energy Efficiency
- Without public transport, U.S. gasoline consumption would increase by 1.4 billion gallons each year.
Source: Public Transportation and Petroleum Savings in the U.S.: Reducing Dependence on Oil.
ICF International, on behalf of APTA - Rail has the highest fuel efficiency in terms of petroleum use.
Source: Public Transportation and Petroleum Savings in the U.S.: Reducing Dependence on Oil.
ICF International, on behalf of APTA - Regenerative braking, which enables energy created by braking the vehicle to be fed back to the grid or to be stored in batteries, has been standard in rail for a long time. It has only been introduced to automobiles recently via hybrid cars.
Transporting More People Faster
- While a metro can transport 50,000 passengers per hour (pph) using a three to five metre wide strip of land, only 9,000 pph can be transported by buses, and only 2,000 pph can be transported by cars.
Source: Ticket to the Future
UITP
