Energy Consumption and Emissions of High-Speed Trains

This paper analyzes the relationships between the speed of passenger trains (especially high-speed trains), their energy consumption, and their greenhouse gas emissions. After an outline of the special energy consumption characteristics of high-speed railway systems, the amounts of energy consumed by conventional and high-speed passenger railway systems are compared. The comparison includes an empirical verification of the differences between high-speed and conventional rail systems and an analysis based on theoretical models. It is shown that, on average, high-speed railway systems usually consume 29% less energy than conventional railway systems. With a comparison of the levels of energy consumption and emissions of high-speed passenger trains with those of all other modes of transportation with which it competes (including conventional passenger trains), the net effects on emissions of high-speed train service on any corridor in the study can be analyzed. This is important because even if the difference in the energy consumption of the Spanish high-speed rail system, Alta Velocidad Española (AVE), and that of conventional rail system is not significant or even if AVE consumes more energy, the diversion of passengers from air travel ultimately yields significant reductions in energy consumption and emissions on a route. The study concludes that each high-speed train passenger accounts for an emissions reduction of approximately 30 kg of CO₂ and that this reduction increased on the routes on which AVE reaches higher speeds.