Is building high speed rail bad for the environment?

There is no cause to prohibit investment in high speed rail on environmental grounds so long as the carbon gains made in traffic balances the emissions caused during construction. However, marketing high speed rail as a part of the solution to climate change is clearly wrong. ...



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HSR is electrically powered and can run 100% on clean, safe renewable energy. One high speed train powered by the wind can carry more passengers than 9 oil-burning, carbon-spewing airplanes!

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Heavy metals are the main types of environmental footprints in bridges, stations, and electric systems. Water pollutants are the main environmental impacts for rail and EMU systems, and the emissions of air pollutants are significant in subgrades.

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High-Speed Rail is the Solution. Shifting drivers to trains creates fewer greenhouse gas emissions, since trains are far more energy efficient than cars (or planes).

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High-speed rail is generally regarded as the pinnacle of attractive and green transportation. But all too often, it makes train travel more expensive and less flexible. In the end, costly high-speed lines may just push more people into cars.

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While the US was a passenger train pioneer in the 19th century, after WWII, railways began to decline. The auto industry was booming, and Americans bought cars and houses in suburbs without rail connections. Highways (as well as aviation) became the focus of infrastructure spending, at the expense of rail.

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One high speed train powered by the wind can carry more passengers than 9 oil-burning, carbon-spewing airplanes! America consumes 20 million barrels of oil every day, most of it for transportation - so switching to oil-free high speed rail is a huge climate and energy security solution all in one.

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High-Speed Rail is the Solution. Shifting drivers to trains creates fewer greenhouse gas emissions, since trains are far more energy efficient than cars (or planes).

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The International Council on Clean Transportation identified that short-haul flights between dense urban centers comprise a quarter of domestic US air travel. For these flights segments, electric high-speed rail could reduce emissions (compared to air travel) by 23%. Downtown Limburg, Germany.

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High speed trains run on electricity instead of diesel fuel. Because much of the world's electricity is still generated at fossil fuel burning power plants, high speed trains do contribute to carbon emissions, however the climate impact of one train is significantly less than that of many personal vehicles.

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The results reveal that HSR can decrease carbon emissions by an average of 2.3 percent.

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Compared to flying, using the train emits on average six times less GHG emissions.

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oil-free transport HSR is electrically powered and can run 100% on clean, safe renewable energy.

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Americans really want high-speed rail. According to a new survey from the American Public Transportation Association, 62 percent of the 24,711 adults surveyed said they would probably or definitely use high-speed rail if it were an option. 11 percent said that they would definitely or probably not use the service.

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High Speed Rail is the world's safest form of transportation proven by decades of operations all around the world. Japan was the first nation to build high speed rail in 1964, and has since transported 10 billion passengers without a single injury or fatality!

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Most passenger trains, however, make many intermediate stops, and the trains must be sized to meet the maximum demand along the route. As a result, many trains tend to be relatively empty for much of their journeys, greatly reducing their energy efficiency.

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This high speed train could be the first to be powered entirely by renewable energy. California's long-awaited high speed train will be solar powered, according to the California High-Speed Rail Authority. It's been a rocky road so far for the California High-Speed Rail Authority's promising new project.

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Trains Emit Less CO2 Than Other Transport Methods Recently developed hydrogen-powered trains are the most eco-friendly trains in the world, emitting nothing except steam as a by-product and creating very little noise.

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The California HSR, for example, will remove 12 billion pounds of carbon dioxide per year by 2030 because it uses electricity generated from wind, solar, and other renewable resources. In addition, California's HSR will save 12.7 million barrels of oil by 2030.

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Implementing high-speed rail will keep billions of dollars in the U.S. economy by decreasing the amount of oil that the U.S. consumes. According to the International Association of Railways (UIC), high-speed rail is eight times more energy efficient than airplanes and four times more efficient than automobile use.

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California's plan is to build an electric train that will connect Los Angeles with the Central Valley and then San Francisco in two hours and 40 minutes. But 15 years later, there is not a single mile of track laid, and executives involved say there isn't enough money to finish the project.

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