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High speed rail: bad for environment?

High speed rail: bad for environment?

High speed: Not green enough

High speed rail has been dismissed by government because it is bad for the environment, it emerged this week.

Rail minister Tom Harris said that Britain did not need faster trains that would consume more energy but should instead focus on reducing congestion and reliability on the existing network.

"The argument that high speed rail is a green option does not necessarily stand up to close inspection," said Harris, in a letter to Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies.  

"Increasing the maximum speed from 200km/h to 350km/h leads to a 90% increase in energy consumption. In exchange, it cuts station-to-station journey times by less than 25% and door-to-door journey times by even less."

Harris' claim was rubbished by Campaign for Better Transport executive director Stephen Joseph.

"I think the claim about increased energy consumption is oversold," he told NCE. "It's based on a study made some time ago on a theoretical level."

 

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Reader Response

Added: Wednesday, 5 November 2008 20:05 GMT
Anonymous, Grimsby, United Kingdom

All means of transportation come nothing close to the damage the Iraq war has done to the environment. They are hypocrites and liars.


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Added: Monday, 14 July 2008 12:14 BST
Karl Burman, London, United Kingdom

I fully agree with the principal that faster trains use more energy than slower trains, this principal applies to all objects not within a vacuum, however I do not believe that the “end game” is being considered. Looking all forms of transport, trains can reduce the average amount of CO2 per journey a UK citizen/business makes per day, but they must be attractive for people to use them. The strongest appeal that trains have at their disposal is the ability to be quicker, congestion free, more relaxing and provide a working environment. High Speed train networks can target the first of these expectations very well and move people/goods out of cars/lorries and on to trains.


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Added: Thursday, 12 June 2008 12:32 BST
Anonymous, Cardiff, United Kingdom

Is this the government accepting that they need to do more to improve the reliability of conventional trains before tackling anything more demanding?

Even if high speed trains do consume more energy than standard trains, they consume far less than the short-haul planes they compete with. Door-to-door journey times would also be better than planes. They might even cost less if the cost of air travel truly reflected the environmental cost.


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