Carbon emissions for Indian Railways

Abstract

Indian railways is a critical infrastructure in the transportation of goods across India. It plays a vital role in the geographically balanced economic growth. By transporting a large volume of goods in comparison to air or road modality, it offers a better solution in cutting emissions. In this present paper a study is conducted based on data published by various governmental bodies; to quantify emissions from the transportation of goods by Indian railways. A comparison is attempted between the electric and diesel electric options for railways at the end, which will set out recomendations for a national policy for a healthier environment. The market share of Indian Railways is consistently falling over the years, it is losing to road transport. In the context it is worth mentioning that from the various studies published internationally, there is a close competition between railways and water transport in respect of environmental performance. Road transport is third choice in relation to Water transport & Railways wrt environmental performance. Major part of Railways goods is based on six major industries viz Electricity, Coal, Steel, Crude Petroleum, Petroleum Refinery products & Cement. A study by KPMG 1 found that the market share of transportation in India is 62% by Road, 29% by Railways,5% by Coastal, 4% by pipelines & < 1% by Airways. These statistics show that emissions from transportation can be reduced drastically by transportation modal shift to coastal waterways and railways combination.