Carbon emission reduction in the transportation sector is essential in the global mitigation effort and a large-scale public transport system has the potential to be an effective instrument. High speed rail (HSR) is one such example, yet it is unclear how much reduction in road traffic results from new rail routes. Using the difference-in-differences (DID) method, we show that new HSR routes in China leads to a 20.5 log-point reduction in the number of passenger vehicles and a 15.7 log-point reduction in freight vehicles running on parallel highways. These reductions were not seen on ordinary national roads. These effects translate into an annual reduction of 14.76 million tons of CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, or 1.75% of GHG emissions in China’s transport sector. This mitigation effect mainly comes from the substitution of highway goods transport with the conventional railway, instead of the direct replacement of highway passenger transport with HSR. The environmental benefit of HSR in China has not been fully realized because of the thermal-dominated electricity supply. Our further projections suggest that in greener electricity conditions, the HSR in China can significantly contribute more to the reduction in GHG emissions from the transport sector.

Impact of High-Speed Rail on Road Traffic and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This paper provides an ex-post assessment of net carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail (HSR) by including both mode substitution and traffic generation effects with a life-cycle approach. We are among the first authors to examine the emissions effects of a long-haul HSR and to consider the effects of avoided infrastructure expansion and vehicle manufacturing due to traffic diversion. We find that avoided infrastructure expansion plays a limited role in offsetting CO2 emissions from the construction of an HSR infrastructure, but the reduced demand for passenger vehicles can offset a larger share of emissions from the manufacturing of HSR rolling stock. Initially, too much traffic was diverted from ordinary-speed rail (OSR) to HSR, increasing emissions at the operation stage. As traffic diverted from road and air increased, the net emissions at the operation stage turned negative, offsetting emissions from infrastructure construction and vehicle manufacturing.

Assessing carbon dioxide emissions of high-speed rail : the case of Beijing-Shanghai corridor

High-speed rail and urban green productivity: The mediating role of climatic conditions in China

The Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway (HSR) is one of the most important railways in China, but it also has impacts on the economy and the environment while creating social benefits. This paper uses a life cycle assessment (LCA) method and a life cycle cost (LCC) analysis method to summarize the energy consumption, carbon emissions and costs of the Beijing-Shanghai HSR from the perspective of life cycle, and proposes some corresponding suggestions based on the results. The research objective of this paper is to analyse the carbon emissions, energy consumption, and costs of the rail system which includes the structure of the track and earthwork of the Beijing-Shanghai HSR during four stages: conception stage, construction stage, operation and maintenance stage, and disposal stage. It is concluded that the majority of the carbon emissions and energy consumption of the entire rail system are from the construction stage, accounting for 64.86% and 54.31% respectively. It is followed by the operation and maintenance stage with 31.60% and 35.32% respectively. In contrast, the amount of carbon emissions and energy consumption from the conception stage is too small to be considered. Furthermore, cement is the major contributor to the carbon emissions and energy consumption during the construction stage. As for the cost, the construction stage spends the largest amount of money (US$4614.00 million), followed by the operation and maintenance stage (US$910.61 million). Improving production technologies and choosing construction machinery are proposed to reduce the cost and protect the environment.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/206/pdf

Life Cycle Cost, Energy and Carbon Assessments of Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) �������������������������������������������� � 1120 FAQ 10.1: How important is electromobility in decarbonising transport and are there major constraints in battery minerals?��� 1120 FAQ 10.2: How hard is it to decarbonise heavy vehicles in transport like long-haul trucks, ships and planes?��������������������������������� 1120 FAQ 10.3: How can governments, communities and individuals reduce demand and be more efficient in consuming transport energy?����������������� 1121 Transport Chapter 10 10 Scenarios from bottom-up and top-down models indicate that without intervention, CO 2 emissions from transport could grow in the range of 16% and 50% by 2050 (medium confidence).The scenarios literature projects continued growth in demand for freight and passenger services, particularly in developing countries in Africa and Asia (high confidence).This growth is projected to take place across all transport modes.Increases in demand notwithstanding, scenarios that limit warming to 1.5°C with no or limited overshoot suggest that a 59% reduction (42-68% interquartile range) in transport-related CO 2 emissions by 2050, compared to modelled 2020 levels is required.While many global scenarios place greater reliance on emissions reduction in sectors other than transport, a quarter of the 1.5°C degree scenarios describe transport-related CO 2 emissions reductions in excess of 68% (relative to modelled 2020 levels) (medium confidence).Illustrative mitigation pathways 1.5 renewables (REN) and 1.5 low demand (LD) describe emission reductions of 80% and 90% in the transport sector, respectively, by 2050.Transport-related emission reductions, however, may not happen uniformly across regions.For example, transport emissions from the Developed Countries and Eastern European and West-Central Asian countries decrease from 2020 levels by 2050 across all scenarios compatible with a 1.5°C goal (C1-C2 group), but could increase in Africa, Asia and Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, and the Middle East in some of these scenarios. 2{10.7} 

Transport

The rapid development of China’s high-speed rail (HSR) has caused great concern worldwide, and its various environmental impacts is also a main topic. As such, a comprehensive assessment of these environmental impacts is significant for future HSR construction. In this study, a hybrid input-output life cycle method is applied to evaluate multi-footprints of Beijing-Tianjin intercity HSR, namely, carbon, water, land, and material footprints. Results show that the total carbon, water, land, and material footprints of the entire Beijing-Tianjin HSR construction are 3669.0 kt CO2, 54954.7 kt fresh water, 45830.6 ha land, and 8474.2 kt original materials. In the construction stage, bridge and rail systems have the largest environmental impacts, totally contributing above 74% of the four footprints. The indirect footprints from upstream material production have the dominant effects, accounting over 89% in the four footprints. Metal smelting and rolling, transportation equipment manufacturing, and non-metallic mineral products are high-water-consuming and high-emission sectors in raw material production. Improving industrial production efficiency, optimizing line layout, optimizing production distribution and construction process management are key mitigation ways for multi-footprints.

Carbon, water, land and material footprints of China’s high-speed railway construction

A carbon footprint (CF) assessment of Chinese high‐speed railways (HSRs) can help guide further development of the world's longest HSR network. In this research, a hybrid economic input‐output and life cycle assessment (EIO‐LCA) method was applied to estimate the CF of the Beijing‐Shanghai HSR line. Specific CFs were analyzed of different subsystems of the line, different stages of production, and three calculation scopes. Results showed that the annual CF of the Beijing‐Shanghai HSR is increasing, whereas the per‐passenger CF constantly declined between 2011 and 2014. Scope 1 emissions account for an average of 4% of the total annual CF, Scope 2 contribute 71%, and Scope 3 comprise 25%. Among the different stages, operation contributes the largest (71%), followed by construction (20%) and maintenance (9%). In the construction stage, the bridges have the largest CF, followed by trains, and then rails. A trade‐off exists between the increase in carbon emissions due to construction of bridges and the reduction in operation emissions affected by leveling changes in terrain. The Beijing‐Shanghai HSR line has a relatively higher per‐passenger CF than eight other HSR lines, which is largely due to China's coal‐based carbon‐intensive energy mix of electricity generation, high proportion of bridges, higher operating speed, and heavier train body. In the future, cleaner electricity supply options, more efficient raw material production, and improvement of trains are keys to reducing the CF of Chinese HSRs.

A Carbon Footprint of High-Speed Railways in China: A Case Study of the Beijing-Shanghai Line

The environmental footprints of China’s high-speed railway (HSR) have attracted much attention nationally and internationally. Although there is some research focusing on CO2 emissions, a comprehensive environmental impacts assessment of HSR construction is still lacking. In this study, the emissions of the Beijing–Tianjin intercity HSR line was calculated using a hybrid input–output life cycle assessment method to quantify the environmental impacts of HSR throughout its construction. The environmental footprints during the construction stage were analyzed in terms of different subsystems and sectors. The results showed that bridges contribute the largest environmental footprints at approximately 60%, followed by rail and electric multiple unit (EMU) systems. The top three sectors that contribute to pollutant emissions are the metal smelting and rolling industry, transport equipment manufacturing, and non-metallic mineral production. CO2 and NOx are the major pollutants directly emitted by site equipment operation. More chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and petroleum are emitted in EMU production than in rail construction, while NH3-N is emitted more in rails instead. Cd, Pb, As, and Hg are the significant pollutants in the metal smelting and rolling industry, whereas Cr, Cu, and Zn are the main heavy metal emissions in the transport equipment manufacturing sector. Heavy metals are the main types of environmental footprints in bridges, stations, and electric systems. Water pollutants are the main environmental impacts for rail and EMU systems, and the emissions of air pollutants are significant in subgrades. The production efficiency of upstream materials, desulfurization and denitration in fossil combustion, and the length of the bridge construction should be considered for an HSR under construction, in order to become environmentally friendly and sustainable.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/1/105/pdf

Environmental Footprints of High-Speed Railway Construction in China: A Case Study of the Beijing-Tianjin Line.

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Shihui Cheng

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

Carbon, water, land and material footprints of China’s high-speed railway construction

A Carbon Footprint of High-Speed Railways in China: A Case Study of the Beijing-Shanghai Line

Environmental Footprints of High-Speed Railway Construction in China: A Case Study of the Beijing-Tianjin Line.