Events, News & Blog

Global transport emissions could peak in the 2030s if railways are “aggressively” expanded, says the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Feb 16.2019

Rail Transport  is also the most energy-efficient means of motorised passenger transport, and is far more efficient than road freight and aviation, as the chart above shows.

Author Jocelyn Timperley

Rail is among the most efficient and lowest emitting modes of transport, according to the IEA’s new report focusing on the opportunities it offers for energy and the environment.

In particular, urban and high-speed rail hold “major promise to unlock substantial benefits”, the report says, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, congestion and air pollution.

In a foreword to the report, Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, argues rail transport is “often neglected” in public debates about future transport systems. “Despite the advent of cars and airplanes, rail of all types has continued to evolve and thrive,” he says.

Carbon Brief takes a look at eight key charts from the report showing the status of rail in the world today – and how it could reduce emissions in future.

Energy-efficient rail

Rail transport is the most electrified transport sector, the IEA says. Globally, three-quarters of rail passenger movements and half of rail freight relies on electricity.

This means it is “uniquely positioned” to take advantage of the rise of renewables in the electricity mix.

 

North Coast’s Great Redwood Trail would convert decaying railway into 320-mile pathway

The first steps toward making a more than 300-mile walking and cycling trail from the San Francisco Bay to Humboldt Bay, crossing some of the North Coast’s most scenic, least-traveled landscapes are set to begin later this year.

Details such as when the Great Redwood Trail could be completed, how the most challenging stretches might be constructed and how much it all will cost remain big unknowns. But advocates of the ambitious plan to convert a decaying railway into a world-class pathway, potentially drawing tens of thousands of visitors to the region each year, say they’re confident it’s not a question of if it’ll happen, but when.

“Oh absolutely, absolutely. No question,” said Caryl Hart, the former head of Sonoma County Regional Parks. “Portions are already built in Willits and Ukiah, and quite a large portion in Humboldt Bay and Arcata is in the beginnings of development. It’s not like we have to find or buy the right of way — it already is there, and that is just such an advantage.”

The concept involves connecting blacktop in populated areas and segments of dirt trails in rural sections adjacent to deteriorating train tracks throughout five counties to offer a hiking, biking and horseback riding experience unlike any other. The meandering trek from Larkspur to beyond Eureka, which includes the remote, 50-mile Eel River Canyon north of Willits, would provide unencumbered, picturesque views few have laid eyes on before.

“It’s something that almost nobody has seen,” said Hart, a board member for the North Coast Railroad Authority that oversees the defunct railroad corridor. “People never get the opportunity at multiple days through this region and to experience dawn in the redwoods, for example. You can be hiking along this trail literally adjacent to oldest and largest trees on the planet right by the river. It’s not something you can experience at all right now.”

The passage of a bill from state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and the governor’s signature last year directed the state to create a plan to build the trail while also doing away with the railroad authority, which has become insolvent after 30 years watching over the corridor. A forthcoming audit is expected to nail down debts of about $12 million for the Ukiah-based public agency.

Read More

Dangerous By Design 2019

Between 2008 and 2017, drivers struck and killed 49,340 people who were walking on streets all across the United States. That’s more than 13 people per day, or one person every hour and 46 minutes. It’s the equivalent of a jumbo jet full of people crashing—with no survivors—every single month.

Dangerous by Design 2019 takes a closer look at this alarming epidemic.

We can and must do more to reduce the number of people who die while walking every day on our roadways. For too long we have disregarded this problem by prioritizing moving cars at high speeds over safety for everyone. It’s past time for that to change. Protecting the safety of all people who use the street—especially the people most vulnerable to being struck and killed—needs to be a higher priority for policymakers, and this priority must be reflected in the decisions we make about how to fund, design, operate, maintain, and measure the success of our roads.

Read More

SMART in line for $12.6 million transit grant to extend planned bike path

Bay Area transit planners have recommended the North Bay’s commuter train agency be granted $12.6 million to support the build out of its planned bicycle and pedestrian pathway, SMART announced Thursday.

If approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as early as this month, the funding would go toward 4.7 miles of new paved pathway in Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa. SMART’s original plan envisioned completion of 54 miles of trail adjacent to the rail corridor and upgrades to an existing 16 miles designated for bicycles and pedestrians, together running the 70-plus miles from Cloverdale to Larkspur.

Only 16.2 miles of the pathway are complete. About 5 miles of the multi-use path across San Rafael, Novato, Cotati and Rohnert Park were completed in 2017-18, with another 1-mile segment in Petaluma due to be built this year, according to SMART.

Should SMART receive the MTC grant, funded through state gas and vehicle weight taxes, the agency will build new segments from McDowell Boulevard in Petaluma to Main Street in Penngrove and from Golf Course Drive in Rohnert Park to Bellevue Avenue in Santa Rosa. SMART also has another grant application submitted for funding to complete another 12 miles of trail between Windsor and Petaluma.

“Having an integrated pathway enhances SMART’s successful passenger rail service,” Gary Phillips, SMART’s board chairman, said in a statement. “This funding is a major achievement for SMART and for the communities we serve.”

Read More