Science Inventory

Savings in per-passenger CO2 emissions using rail rather than air travel in the northeastern U.S.

Citation:

Miller, Andy. Savings in per-passenger CO2 emissions using rail rather than air travel in the northeastern U.S. Edition 2020, C. Andrew Miller (ed.), EM: AIR AND WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION'S MAGAZINE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGERS. Air & Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA, , 37, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2020.1837996

Impact/Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to provide information on the potential CO2 reductions that an individual can achieve by using rail rather than air travel in the northeastern US.

Description:

Individuals and institutions seeking to reduce travel-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by changing travel modes need information on the amount of CO2 that might be avoided by train travel rather than air travel. This study uses flight emissions data from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to estimate average per-passenger CO2 emissions avoided by rail travel between selected city pairs in the northeastern U.S. Trend lines are developed from the ICAO data for different aircraft types to facilitate analysis with CO2 emissions from rail travel. Separate rail emission factors are calculated for portions of Amtrak’s system operating electric and diesel locomotives. An adjustment factor is estimated to account for longer rail distances than flight distances. Results show rail travel has generally lower CO2 emissions than air travel, with substantially lower emissions for electrified segments of the Amtrak system. At flight distances of over 700 miles, air travel using single-aisle jets can have lower per-passenger CO2 emissions compared to diesel-powered rail travel, accounting for the longer distances by rail.