Comparison of energy consumption and carbon emissions of high-speed rail with other transportation modes from life cycle perspective: A case of Beijing-Shanghai

Abstract

High-speed rail (HSR) is considered clean and low carbon footprint because it relies on electricity and its a high carrying capacity, compared with other transportation modes. However, previous studies have not quantified the combined impacts of greener electricity and modal shift on the energy efficiency and emission reduction benefits of HSR. Here, this paper compares the energy consumption and carbon footprint of four transportation modes on the Beijing-Shanghai line in China using life cycle assessment. Firstly, we develop a life-cycle energy consumption and carbon emissions modal for the transportation modes. Second, we assess the energy consumption and carbon footprint of different transportation modes at each stage. Subsequently, we calculate the net carbon emissions of HSR under the modal shift and four greener electricity development policies separately. Finally, we conduct a sensitivity analysis of the main factors. The results indicate that: (1) the shift of the modal from road and air strengthens the emission reduction advantages of HSR. However, the limited carrying capacity of HSR makes it challenging to achieve further carbon reduction through the modal shift; (2) greener electricity can make the most substantial contribution to the future carbon reduction, potentially reducing carbon emissions by 20.93 % to 52.67 % throughout the life-cycle; (3) the 17 % carbon emissions mitigation implied by HSR construction depends heavily on a stable passenger traffic flow.