Carbon Footprint and environmental impact of Railway Infrastructure

Comprehensive tools for the comparison of the environmental impact of different transport modes have been developed. The International Union of Railways UIC has worked out two tools: “EcoTransIT” for freight- and “EcoPassenger” for passenger transport. Both on-line calculators focus on the operation of vehicles and take the upstream emissions from energy supply into account. Infrastructure such as track system or the production of vehicles (see Figure 1.1) is excluded. Especially within large rail projects, policy makers and the public wondered if the share of track and vehicles construction is significant. Relevant issues are: 

• What is the carbon footprint of the construction of viaducts and tunnels?
• What is the environmental impact of transport network density, rail utilization numbers, and composition of the electricity mix in proportion to the carbon footprint of the infrastructure?
• Does the inclusion of infrastructure (tracks, vehicles) significantly change the relation of greenhouse gas emissions between road and rail?