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Transportation in a Net Zero World: Transitioning Towards Low Carbon Public Transport

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

Abstract

For travel within urban and rural areas, there is a compelling case for policy makers to encourage a transition from using personal vehicles towards low emission rail. Although trains are often seen as a ‘green’ mode of transport, they represent ~ 9% of global passenger movement and only consume ~ 0.6% of global oil, therefore it remains important to consider methods for emission reduction. Without improvements to the current rolling stock, as well as the tracks and platforms, emissions could remain static at best. Electric trains (ETs) produce the lowest levels of emissions when compared to conventionally fuelled trains (CFTs) and hydrogen trains (HTs). However, emissions remain dependent on the electricity generation mix, and it is likely that in the future a combination of both HTs and ETs will be required to travel within urban and rural areas. For trains to be considered a real alternative to personal vehicles and support the broader objectives of integrated transport, early investment into new rolling stock will be required. This is particularly important as the average life of a train is ~ 20 years which means that early implementation will be necessary.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arizona Institute for Resilient Environments and Societies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Kathryn G. Logan

  2. Energy Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Kathryn G. Logan

  3. The School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland

    Kathryn G. Logan & Astley Hastings

  4. The University of Sydney Business School, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    John D. Nelson

Authors
  1. Kathryn G. Logan
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  2. Astley Hastings
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  3. John D. Nelson
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Correspondence to Kathryn G. Logan .

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Logan, K.G., Hastings, A., Nelson, J.D. (2022). Trains. In: Transportation in a Net Zero World: Transitioning Towards Low Carbon Public Transport. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96674-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96674-4_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-96673-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-96674-4

  • eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)

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