According to new figures from the Rail Delivery Group, rail travel is almost nine times more environmentally friendly than car travel on some of the most important business routes in the country.
On average, those who take the train on some of the most popular business travel routes, such as London King’s Cross to York, are producing nine times less carbon emissions than by using diesel or petrol cars. Rail has also been found to produce over four times less carbon emissions than by using a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, as well as almost two and a half times less than those produced by a battery electric vehicle.
This report is the first time that data from across the rail industry has been collated to show off the environmental benefits of travelling by rail on the 100 most poplar business routes. The data that has been used to identify sustainability includes engine type, fuel type, journey distance, occupancy and carriage layout.
Rail Delivery Group CEO Jacqueline Starr said:
We all have a responsibility to reduce our carbon footprint, and the data that we have published reveals that rail is the green choice for travel between our towns and cities.
“We know that businesses need accurate and reliable carbon emission data they can trust. From today, businesses will be able to see the most accurate measure of rail business travel emissions available for the 100 most popular business journeys. This will allow travellers to make greener travel choices by providing reliable carbon data when they book their next train ticket.
“This is an important milestone, but we want to do more. We want to help business travellers to make greener travel choices. Having our Green Travel Pledge data available through global and domestic travel management companies and online booking tools will enable more businesses to choose rail as their first choice for business travel and reduce their carbon footprint.”
The importance of highlighting the environmental benefits of rail travel comes as part of the industry’s Green Travel Pledge, which is an industry-wide commitment to giving businesses detailed, accurate and reliable data on the emissions produced during rail journeys across the country.
By producing the data, the development of an industry benchmark for transport carbon emissions is being supported, with the figures claimed to be the ‘most accurate carbon emission data ever created for rail business travel in Britain.’
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