What is the carbon footprint of a train vs flight?
National rail emits around 35 grams per kilometer. A domestic flight emits 246 grams. So the footprint of taking the train is around 14% of a flight: [ 35 / 246 * 100 = 14%].
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Trains are particularly low-carbon ways to travel. Taking a train instead of a car for medium-length distances would cut your emissions by around 80%. Using a train instead of a domestic flight would reduce your emissions by around 86%.
Mathews points to research showing that trains emit the lowest of CO2 per passenger mile at 177 grams per passenger mile. Buses come in at 299 grams per mile, second-worst only to cars at 371 grams.
Aviation accounts for around 2.5% of global CO2 emissions, but it's overall contribution to climate change is higher. This is because air travel does not only emit CO2: it affects the climate in a number of more complex ways.
In fact, unless you're looking to venture from Los Altos to LA off-road through state parks the whole way—in a Hummer with Tonka-truck mud tires—driving is generally greener than flying.
According to the 2021 U.S. Department of Energy Data Book, Amtrak is 46% more energy efficient than traveling by car and 34% more energy efficient than domestic air travel.
Go by train – your most sustainable travel choiceBesides walking and biking, you can rest assured that train travel is your greenest option. No matter if electric or diesel-powered. Compared to cars and airplanes, trains emit between 66 and 75 percent fewer carbon emissions.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are directly related to fuel consumption. According to EPA data, freight railroads account for just 0.5% of total U.S. GHG emissions and just 1.7% of transportation-related GHG emissions. Moving freight by rail instead of truck lowers GHG emissions by up to 75%, on average.
If we take an overall view of the transport sector, 71% of transportation related carbon emissions come from road users, whereas only 1.8% of emissions stem from rail travel. So in absolute terms, trains are responsible for a lot less emissions than cars.
The cleanest modes of transportation are walking and biking. Walking to and from the store will not only get you closer to your daily step goal, it will not contribute to air pollution. If you biked one kilometer to the store, your bike's emissions score would be 8.
Trains offer greater flexibility at each stage of the journey, making family train travel easier and less stressful than flying. Children can move around more freely than on a plane, and you'll have the space to pack home comforts.
Why are flights often cheaper than train tickets? “There's an unfair taxing system which makes trains more expensive,” said Herwig Schuster, a transport campaigner at Greenpeace who authored the ticket prices report. “There are a lot of polluting subsidies on the airline side.”
So, if you're traveling with three or more people, driving is the better option, and here's why: Three people on the cross-country flight would account for 1.86 tons of carbon emissions (0.62 tons of CO2 x 3), compared to the total 1.26 tons of carbon the vehicle would produce (ignoring that the extra weight would ...