Transport & Trains

Almost universally accepted by business, and rarely challenged, is the received wisdom that rail transportation is greener than travel by road. But does this assertion still hold true?

In absolute terms, the picture is clear. Worldwide, road users account for about 71% of transport CO2 emissions, with railway companies making up less than 1.8%, next to 12.3% for aviation and 14.3% for shipping.

11g of CO2 per kilometer and per passenger is the average emission for a train. This number is quite interesting because compared to other transportation systems, train transport is the smallest emitter of CO2. It has a relatively low contribution to climate change due to his small level of emissions. But this system doesn’t only have advantages. Their brake system, noise or even railways are impactful for our environment and remain a problem for our society.

History of trains

The oldest known railways, transporting men and animals, date back to the 6th century before Jesus-Christ in Corinth, Greece. Rail transport then started, approximately as we know it, in the middle of the 16th century in Germany as funiculars and horse-drawn wagons. Modern rail transport began with the British development of steam locomotives in the early 19th century. That is why, the rail system in Great-Britain is the oldest in the world.

A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th century to distinguish between mobile and stationary steam engines.

Nowadays trains are mostly electric and can go up to 300 km/h. We also know different types of trains: Trains for freights, metros, tramways, or high speed trains that are, for some people, the transportation system of the future.

Particle pollution

Trains, even if their impact on environment is quite low, are targeted for particles emissions. The particles they emit are micro or nano toxic particles composed of heavy metals and harmful substances. The toxic level depends on the size of the particle, the smaller it is, the more it is harmful for our health and our environment. If we breath these particles, they can go very deeply into our bodies.

They represent a big share of pollution in the train transportation, and are not good in terms of health.

This phenomenon is even worse in the rail transport than in the road transport, because most of the time when a train uses the brake system it is indoor, in a station for example. The particles are thus, flying in a closed area and breathed in a higher scale. People who take the metro for example are very exposed to this type of particles and can, sometimes, feel the impact immediately.

Noise pollution

Noise is considered to be the most important environmental problem for residents living next to a railway line. To solve this problem, infrastructure companies, railway operators, and globally the industry are trying to gradually reduce noise. The growing demand for the European transport market is leading to a less peaceful transportation system that affects many citizens, day and night. However, studies show that noise pollution is much higher in road and air transport than in rail transport.

So far, two of the most important noise reduction measures have been to install noise barriers and insulate train windows. But these measures are only for cities, people and animals living in the countryside don’t have access to noise reduction. This noise will depend on many things, leading to more or less disturbance. For example, the speed is a key element in the noise regulation. If trains reduce their speed from 250 km/h to 150 km/h, the noise disturbance can be divided by two, and reduce harmful impacts on animals and people.

Another key element is the rail maintenance, which plays a big role in the noise level. If a train is traveling on new rails, the level of noise will be much lower than on old rails. Indeed, the friction between the rail and the wheel is reduced and permits a noise reduction.

Habitat division

160 elephants were killed in the last 20 years by trains in the region of Bengal because of the lack of barriers next to the railway. But effects can be even worse when the companies start to install barriers. Animals, even if they can’t die because of direct contact with trains, can’t cross the railway. It divides ecosystems and leads to severe impacts on populations living in these ecosystems. For instance, in the Netherlands there is 2809 km of railway for a country of 42 508 km2. Which is important and has an impact on wildlife because we have to know that 18% of the country is covered by water, so species can live only on 82% of the country and they are impacted by the division of their natural habitat.

Comparison with other transportation systems

Trains, even if they have some impacts on environment, are one of the best transportation mode when we compare it to cars or planes. They emit only 11g of CO2 per kilometer per person. As comparison, we can use the spending in energy of a plane, which is 285g for one person and for the same distance.

But the main problem of train remains, railways are dividing natural habitats for animals and creates isolation. In addition to it, we can speak about the particles that are emitted by the brake system of trains, in big quantities and sometimes indoor, which is even more dangerous.

Effects on nature and health

Particles
Some of the problems, related to train transportation, can have serious impacts on human health and wildlife. First, the worst of them are microparticles. These particles are responsible for cardiovascular diseases, heart problems or even respiratory diseases. For people who go every morning into a metro station, the impact can be felt for those victim of asthma, for example.

But even outdoor micro particles are considering as a huge danger. They represent, in Europe a million of premature deaths for humans, and for animals as well.

Animals that live next to a railway are exposed to particles in a high scale which is very dangerous. These particles can enter the lungs. Children and pregnant women are also very sensitive to this type of pollution, according to scientists, we can find particles in the lungs of everyone due to their high concentration.

Noise pollution
Then, noise disturbance is the next big issue in the train world, it can be very impactful and lead to several effects on health. Excessive noise pollution in working areas such as offices, construction sites, bars and even in our homes and can influence psychological health. Studies show that the occurrence of aggressive behavior, disturbance of sleep, constant stress, fatigue, and hypertension can be linked to excessive noise levels. These, then, can cause more severe and chronic health issues later in life.

In Europe, it can be seen that about 85% of people affected by railway noise; over 55 dB or 50 dB are located in the following six countries in Europe: Germany, France, UK, Austria, Poland and Switzerland. About 60% are located in Germany and France.

Noise pollution is one of the many factors that contributes to the extinction of species. Many studies have highlighted the various ways in which animals are affected by this pollution. One of the most common problems observed is hearing loss resulting from noise levels of 85 decibels or more. Another adverse effect of noise pollution on animals is the loss of the ability to hear important environmental signals, as well as signals from other animals.

There are also many wicked effects that occur directly in the form of diseases that affect not only the auditory system, but also the digestive system, the immune system and the nervous system manifested by, for example, increased heart rate and breathing. In addition to the physical impacts of noise pollution on animals, there are also behavioral effects. This varies enormously between the species and the characteristics of the noise, but the phenomenons most often observed are the abandonment of the territory and the avoidance of breeding.

Even if plants do not have a hearing system, they can also be affected by noise. And although this only indirectly affects the flora, the impact is very real. The explanation is that many plants depend on birds and other animals and mainly insects to transport pollen from one flower to another or to disperse their seeds. However, as mentioned above, animals are particularly sensitive to noise pollution; and studies have shown that it also disrupts their ability to fully perform their breeding need.

Habitat division
According to a study published in 2015, fragmentation causes a 13-75% decline in biodiversity. In addition, it damages ecological processes. In a fragmented forest, there is a decline in biomass productivity, a decrease in carbon sequestration and a depletion of soils in nitrogen.

One of the main causes of the decline of biodiversity is the loss of natural habitat. Wilde areas are important for many animal and plant species. These regions, so far untouched by fragmentation, are becoming unusual. They have an ecological value which is all the more crucial for the preservation of biodiversity and the maintenance of ecosystems.

The protection of areas without roads is insufficient at present. According to data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 14.2% of the Earth's surface is protected. But, only 9.3% of the global protected areas covers areas without roads. This under-representation compromises the achievement of international targets for biodiversity protection. It is to be expected that the clash between road expansion and efforts to protect biodiversity will intensify in the coming years. Scientists urge leaders to adopt a policy for conservation, restoration and monitoring of areas without roads.

Solutions

Green Trains in the Netherlands
As of January 1st 2017, all electric passenger trains on the Dutch rail network have been run on wind energy, according to a statement from operator NS.

The 600,000 daily passengers trains are supplied with 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of wind energy by Eneco per year, as part of an arrangement with NS first announced in 2015. The two companies originally planned to transition Dutch electric trains to 100-percent renewable energy by 2018, but moved up the timetable after achieving 75-percent renewable-energy use last year.

Power from the rail network comes from wind farms not only in The Netherlands, but also Belgium and Scandinavia, according to Eneco.

Sourcing power from multiple countries ensures that there is an adequate amount of electricity for the rail network's needs at all times, Eneco said in a statement.

More sustainable ideas from around the world:

We all want to know how the future of transportation will look like. Full of technologies? With futuristic flying cars? But as you know we can’t see the future. This Chinese engineer, Gerald Chan helps us to imagine and think more precisely about the future of transport. His future is based on more connectivity and easier transportation systems, new technology that will create simple and fast travel between cities, countries and even continents. Interested about it? Let’s check his talk!

Transportation is, for some people, part of freedom’s definition. Thanks to transport, you can go almost everywhere on the planet, faster and faster. But this “freedom” has an impact, an ecological impact, which is translated in climate change. During the last century, the challenge about transport was safety or even speed. Now the challenge is about sustainability and global warming reduction. Ryan Janzen may has a solution. His system can lower emissions and create a sustainable future. And, in addition to it, this transportation system can create more freedom and erase isolation. Now check out this revolution in the transportation world.

Hyperloop

The last innovation, in term of railway, that we want to show, is hyperloop. This new technology developed by Tesla early 2012, consists in a tube, in which magnet are placed to reduce at its maximum friction and create a high speed transport. Hyperloop could be cheaper and better for the environment than the planes, trains, and cars in which humanity putzes about today. are ready to discover one of the transportation modes of tomorrow?

What do you do regarding making more sustainable transportation choices? By tagging us with #theconsciouschallenge you can share your ideas!

Want to contribute to our Ecological Footprint Bible? Submit us your scientific articles! Mail us at info@theconsciouschallenge.org

Sources:

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