60,000 flights saved annually due to current high-speed rail travel

Friday, March 6, 2020

Grant Shapps,the Transport Secretary  said that HS1 is a true success story and they are fully committed to expanding international high-speed rail links between the UK and the rest of Europe as part of their work to be a truly Global Britain.

The huge potential of high-speed rail is demonstrated in the new partnership to help the UK reach its net zero carbon emission target by 2050.

Once the Eurostar’s routes to Amsterdam and Rotterdam reach their full potential and all other international destination are added to the network passenger which could make up to 4.9 million more international train trips in a year.

An additional 470,000 tonnes of CO2e annually  will be saved which is  equivalent of 26,000 short-haul flights. CO2e means carbon dioxide equivalent.

The warming impact of the other greenhouse gases on top of the carbon emissions is taken into consideration so it can be expressed as a single number.

For train passengers the average carbon emission are 80 per cent lower than airline passengers over the same distance.

According to HS1 about 200,000 people will use the high-speed services between London and Bordeaux each year.

The recently opened 302 km  high-speed line between Bordeaux and Tours will allow passengers to travel from London to south-west France in under five hours.

Dyan Crowthwer, CEO of HS1 Ltd said that more and more people are switching to rail as the most environment friendly way of travelling between the UK and the growing list of destinations in mainland Europe.

International travel can be enjoyed without hassle which is associated with airports and make important environmental savings along the way.

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