Recently, the Monitor ran an opinion piece that seemed to say that rail travel contributed to climate change (Monitor Opinion, Oct. 7). It does, but not in the way the author thinks.
The truth is that many experts agree that rail transport is the most environmentally friendly way to get where you are going. The greenhouse effect of gas emissions per mile is 80% less on a train versus an automobile. Take a drive from Concord to Boston any weekday around 8 a.m., and you will see thousands of cars crawling slowly in traffic for up to 2 hours, many with just one person in them. And solo drivers in cars put out nearly twice the emissions per passenger of a train.
Yes, auto fuel efficiency increases are great, but congestion and solo drivers tend to defeat the impact.
Today, cars account for 71% of transport CO2 emissions, with railways making up less than 2%, according to the International Energy Agency. If you take the train long distance, you cut carbon dioxide emissions in half compared to an airplane. Trains use up to 50% less fuel per passenger than airplanes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. And, most trains are not empty: the Downeaster sold out many trains this past summer, and anyone who had ridden the Acela knows how full that train is.
More than 31 million Americans ride Amtrak alone each year. The real issue is poor urban planning, and a lack of investment in public transportation. And, with the average car being well above $20,000, many families struggle to afford the cost and care of an auto. So trains, it turns out, are not only better for our air, they help our economy too.
JAYME H. SIMOES
Concord