Leisure travel by car makes a major contribution to the country's carbon emissions, and with 69 per cent of British adults planning to take a car journey this autumn, if everyone took just one journey by train rather than car 186,200t CO2e of carbon emissions could be saved.
To encourage people to take one less car journey this year, London North Eastern Railway is showing the collective ‘green good' that it will do. The company has been working with experts from University College London's (UCL) Energy Institute to assess the impact of leisure travel in contributing to carbon emissions.
Researchers found that by switching just one leisure journey to train could result in a 28.4 per cent reduction on total journey carbon emissions. Across a year that equates to a 16.6 per cent reduction in emissions (1099.63 million kgC02e) attributable to leisure travel.
A carbon calculator is available to help people to discover the difference that a rail journey could have. For example, London North Eastern Railway's carbon calculator shows that a one-way journey between York and London produces just 12.34kg CO2e by train, whereas a journey by car would produces a shocking 41.36kg CO2e.
The calculator will help to show the difference that changing one journey from car to train can make. The carbon calculator is just one thing London North Eastern Railway has introduced to help customers choose a more environmentally friendly journey. Two-thirds of people think that it should be easier for travellers to travel more sustainably, which is something that the carbon calculator seeks to achieve.
Along with reducing carbon emissions, London North Eastern Railway has a number of offers that reduce the cost of their travel when compared to car. The best value is obtained by planning journeys in advance and booking ahead. The best value comes from booking Advance fares via the LNER website or app, with the advantage that there is no booking fee.
- Anyone with a Railcard gets up to a third off the price of tickets.
- Members of LNER's loyalty scheme ‘LNER Perks' can earn £5 credit just for signing up, and then receive two per cent credit back on each LNER journey they take.
- Families can take advantage of LNER's Family Return tickets that offer fixed price travel for up to two adults and four children between a variety of destinations from £49 for the whole group.
David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “We know that being greener is hugely important but many of us aren't sure on our role and how our individual actions can make a difference. As cars emit three times more carbon emissions than rail and with so many people planning on using the car for a leisure trip this autumn, we're asking people to consider travelling by train just once to do their bit to cut emissions.
“Collectively we could save enough carbon to fill Wembley Stadium 25 times, which is a huge amount of carbon we could prevent from being emitted into the atmosphere. Our research also showed that collectively Britons could save the time equivalent to over eight human lifetimes by using the train each year, meaning we're giving back to ourselves as well as the environment with this change.”
Professor Paul Ekins, Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, said: “Often we talk about climate change in large scales such as icebergs melting and sea level rise, and this can make the issue feel overwhelming and unmanageable, and discourage people from making changes in their lives that can help.
“What our research has concluded is that small changes made by enough people really do make a difference. Just one journey switched from car or bus to train by everyone who takes a leisure trip in a year could reduce carbon emissions by over 1 million tonnes CO2, or 16.6% of emissions from leisure trips, or nearly 1% of all UK 2019 transport emissions. This is a really big contribution from just one small change in a year to people's daily lives.”
I would if I thought they would be running?
The fact is that most ordinary working people cannot afford most train fares, which have risen hugely in recent years. I travel on many trains with at least 75% of seats empty and the remaining passengers have to pay for this waste. It’s time that Tesco’s was brought in to run the train services and give people value for money. Current train services are definitely for the rich only!
Not when an average ticket cost near a hundred pounds to go to London
I can not afford trains fare! From London to Edinburgh it cost over hundred pounds, my car worth £60 of fuel is enough to go there in no time. If they want people to get off the roads, make it a cheaper fare!
I’m sure that travelling by train instead of car is good, as long as the train goes to where you want to go and has a timetable that fits with your plans – which is not always the case.
I would however question the basis of the LNER’s calculations for a one way York to London journey. This apparently emits 12.34kg CO2e by train, whereas a journey by car would produce 41.36kg CO2e. I suspect that the train journey assumes a completely full train and divides the total carbon dioxide emissions of the train by the number of passengers, to give a per head carbon dioxide emission.
Travel by car however emits the same amount of carbon dioxide no matter how many people are in the car. If this was a family of four then the per head carbon dioxide emission would be 10.34kg CO2 – actually LESS than the train emission. And, what’s more, if the train is less than completely full its per head carbon dioxide emission will be higher than the 12.34kg quoted.
“Lies, damn lies & statistics”??