Rail and Road in Intercity Transport: Energy and Environmental Impact

Author(s): Prosenjit Dey Chaudhury

Source: Economic and Political Weekly , Oct. 18-24, 2003, Vol. 38, No. 42 (Oct. 18-24,
2003), pp. 4423-4425
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly

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This is fundamentally misplaced. If we Finally, this move by the finance min- national modal split between rail and road
have a problem with our government, it istry, though ill-thought and probably (in percentage terms) in 2000-01 is esti-
is up to us, not donors, to pressure our misplaced, should serve as a wake up call mated at 26:74 for freight movement and
government to change. More than any- to our large NGO sector. Too few of them 18:82 for passenger movement.2 The shares
thing else, this demonstrates the hollow- have over the years intelligently diversi- of rail are projected to decline still further.
ness of much of our NGO sector. fied their sources of support and rely much The issue of modal substitution is of
Second, apprehensive about the reduced on either tapping in on government schemes greater relevance in the context of intercity
inflow of bilateral funds, many suggested (marked by patronage, corruption and low than of urban traffic. While it is still practical
effectivity) or on foreign donors. Access-
the creation of a large co-financing agency, to think of substitution of a cleaner mode
preferably Indian, to which the donors ing the Indian corporate community or the like rail (whether tube or surface) for road
could give their money. Since this would public through a marketisation of servicesmovement in the city, greater facility of
be an Indian agency not liable under the remains rare. Partly, this is because the modal substitution is offered by long-dis-
FCRA, it could channelise funds to localsector, despite burgeoning salaries to tance traffic movement, where both the rail
NGOs more easily. Though managerially executives, remains reluctant to and road modes are already established. In
attractive, this proposition too is a step this context, one may seek to determine
professionalise. It is also that for a strata
towards centralisation. If we have so far whose original motivation was humanitar- the implications of the dominance of the
survived as a plural democracy, it is be- road mode in India in terms of energy use
ian service or helping political transforma-
cause our system permits space for a tion, the new language smacks of a capi- and related environmental pollution. Such
multiplicity of actors-donors or recipientstalist/market-friendly orientation. an exercise, aimed particularly at intercity
- ensuring multiple foci, processes, con- Whatever the reasons, it is clear thattraffic
the movement in India, should be able
to answer whether there is a case for
social and political environment is under-
stituencies. A pluralism in society must be
going a transformation. And unlesspromotion
matched by a pluralism in the donor world. the of the rail mode at the expense
sector takes a good, hard look at itself,ofand
Straitjacketing, even if managerially effi- the road mode.
cient, is never replacement for better initiates the needed changes, it is in for Accordingly, eight representative sec-
politics. some difficult times. [Bi tions of the country were selected where
the two modes of transport are in compe-
tition.3 These sections vary in respect of

Rail and Road in Intercity terrain (plain/rolling), type of traction on

rail (diesel/electric), administrative classi-
fication of road (national/state highway)

Transport and length of section. Equivalent volumes

of traffic on both modes were worked out.
Energy consumption on road was esti-
mated on the basis of speed-flow and fuel
Energy and Environmental Impact consumption equations, while for rail a
special software for estimation of diesel
A sustainable transport policy should aim at modal substitution in intake (in the case of trains running on
diesel) and norms of electricity consump-
long-distance intercity traffic movement in the country, where the tion (in the case of trains consuming elec-
rail and road modes are in competition. The nature of the relative tricity) were employed. Emissions of
impact of rail and road transport suggests that a number offactorspolluting gases such as carbon dioxide
have to be given due consideration in the formulation of transport (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen
oxides (NOX), non-methane volatile or-
policy: category of traffic, type of traction on rail, type of ganic compounds (NMVOCs), sulphur
passenger movement on road. and the trade-off between greater dioxide (SO2), sulphur oxides (SOX), and
energy efficiency and greater environmental damage potential. total suspended particulate matter (TSP)
were estimated by the application of
emission coefficients taken from docu-
PROSENJIT DEY CHAUDHURY In India the debate on the environmental ments of the Intergovernmental Panel for
impact of transport operations has been Climate Change (IPCC) for greenhouse
Environmental concerns touching the conducted in terms of road vehicle emis- gases and from World Bank and other
transport sector have largely been sions, fuel nature and quality, and stricterdocuments for remaining gases. Although
onfined to the city although the emission norms - all addressed to the urban not strictly comparable, the emissions at
impact of intercity traffic has not been scenario. Intercity traffic movement - both thermal plants of SOX, attributable to
neglected. In countries such as Switzer- passenger and freight - has not generally electric traction on rail, are studied in
land, for example, the adverse impact of received close attention from the environ- relation to emissions of SO2 on the cor-
long-distance freight movement has been mental point of view. In 1980, the National responding road sections Energy consump-
sought to be mitigated through measures Transport Policy Committee noted the cost tion and associated environmental impact
to encourage shipment by rail rather than and energy efficiencies of the rail mode andon both modes are ultimately derived per
by road. It has generally been observed recommended measures to increase its share unit of traffic - passenger kilometre (pkm)
that, on the basis of per unit of traffic, the in total traffic. However, the road mode in the case of passenger movement and net
rail mode uses up fewer energy resources in India has continued to grow at the expense tonne kilometre (ntkm) in the case of freight
and contributes less to environmental pol- of the rail mode, this trend in modal shares movement. The figures thus calculated are
lution than the road mode.l being a worldwide phenomenon. The inclusive of upstream effects, i e, energy

Economic and Political Weekly October 18, 2003 4423

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consumption and pollution at refineries in In the case of freight traffic, the results are energy efficient. The rail mode consumes
the case of petrol and diesel use on rail obtained under the assumption of a con- 0.18-0.19 Mj of energy per pkm in com-
and road and at thermal power plants in comitant shift of passenger traffic carried parison with road consumption of 0.30-
the case of electricity consumption on rail.4by a combination of car and bus. For 0.64 Mj/pkm for the options of passenger
In the absence of data for the Indian situ- passengertraffic, the analysis is done under movement on road by car and bus and by
ation, the results of a study done in the UK three options of shift of traffic from road: bus only. The type of traction does not
were used to incorporate the upstream by a combination of car and bus, by car seem to make a great difference in energy
effects of oil extraction, refining and only, and by bus only. The car category efficiency of the rail mode at least for the
distribution.5 It is hoped that any bias is a mix of old-technology and new-tech- carriage of passenger traffic.
resulting from the use of such data will nology vehicles, all petrol-driven; cars Freight movement presents the rail mode
not significantly alter the relative position running on diesel, which form a small with a greater superiority in energy effi-
of the two modes as revealed by the final share of the population, have not been ciency over road. While rail freight con-
results. In the present study, the effects considered. Buses plying on intercity routes sumes 0.18-0.25 Mj/ntkm, the energy use
associated with a once-for-all provision of in the country have been taken to run on of road freight is as high as 1.1 1-1.35 Mj/
transport infrastructure have not been taken diesel. It may here be noted that the CO2 ntkm. It is found that for this category of
into account. These are stock (as opposedemission factor was not available for bus traffic the type of traction on rail does
to flow) effects and are likely to be small and the factor for heavy-duty commercialmake a difference, with electric traction
if spread over the entire lifetime of the vehicle was applied to this category of having a marked higher energy efficiency
fixed infrastructure. vehicle. There may therefore be a down-as compared with diesel traction.
The relative merits of the two modes are ward bias in the estimates of CO2 emissionEmissions of CO2: Where electric traction
worked out in terms of shifts of equivalent from bus since in the cases of all other pollu-is concerned, passenger movement yields
volumes of traffic - both passenger and tants, bus emission factors are higher thana disadvantage to rail in terms of higher
freight - from one mode to another in the those of heavy-duty vehicle. It may also beemissions of CO2, a potent greenhouse gas.
sections under study. The overall savings noted that there is greater presence of rollingHowever, in the cases of the 'car and bus'
or increases in energy use and pollution terrain among the road sections competingand 'bus only' options on road, this result
levels due to these shifts are noted. Thewith electrified rail. Energy consumptionmay be influenced by the possible down-
equivalent volumes considered in the is higher on such gradient sections. This ward bias in the estimated rate of emission
present study involve 10,000 passengers from bus, as mentioned above. Emission
factor makes itself felt in the case of freight
and 10,440 tonnes of freight on the sec- movement on road, where it is observed rates are higher on rail because of the high
that road sections corresponding tocarbon content of coal used at thermal
tions with national highway and half these
numbers on the state highway sections. dieselised
It rail consume lower energy (andpower stations generating electricity. The
is found that when there are shifts of hence emit lower amounts of pollutants)result is reversed, at least so far as the 'car
passenger and freight traffic from roadthan
to the other road sections. The results and bus' option is concerned, when
rail, there are generally overall savingsobtained
in may now briefly be discussed.dieselised rail is competing with road.
energy consumption and decreases in Energy use: Passenger movement on rail Freight movement always shows rail to
environmental pollution. The savings isare more energy efficient than that on roadbe environmentally cleaner irrespective of
except in the case of passengers on road
greater in the case of shift of freight traffic. the type of traction. The inherent advan-
This is because, in relation to the items moving by bus only. The result is attrib-tage of this mode in possessing a relatively
transported, there is lower deadweightutable of to the lower number of vehicles lowerdeadweight of rolling stock for freight
rail rolling stock in freight movement than transport (as compared with passenger
involved in transit of a fixed number of pas-
in passenger movement. The overall sengers by bus. The option of movement transport) outweighs any disadvantage of
changes resulting from shifts from roadby
tocar only on road is found to be the least
unclean generation of energy for traction.
rail and the fixed equivalent volumes of
Table 1: Rates of Energy Consumption' and Emission of Pollutants2
traffic involved are the bases for deriving for Passenger Traffic (2000-01)
rates of energy consumption and emissions
on the rail and road modes of transport. Type of Section Energy CO2 CO NOX NMVOCs SO2/SOX TSP
The analysis was carried out for the time
Rail sections with electric traction 0.19 25.57 0.002 0.13 na 0.09 2.56
period 2000-01 to 2010-11. The results forCorresponding road sections
- Carand bus 0.33 23.26 1.69 1.11 0.57 0.10 0.10
the base year 2000-01 are presented as an
- Car only 0.63 43.77 2.24 0.35 1.17 0.03 notappl
indication of the relativeenergy and environ-- Bus only 0.16 11.95 1.00 1.61 0.15 0.14 0.20
mental impacts of the two modes. It may, Rail sections with diesel traction 0.18 13.41 0.11 0.34 0.02 0.08 0.02
however, be mentioned that as congestion Corresponding road sections
- Carand bus 0.30 21.35 1.60 1.22 0.50 0.11 0.12
increases over the years, the position of the - Car only 0.64 44.57 2.28 0.37 1.19 0.03 notappl
road mode is found to worsen with respect - Bus only 0.17 12.48 1.04 1.62 0.16 0.14 0.20
to that of rail since increasing congestion
Notes: na - not available; not appl - not applicable; 1 In M
has a greater adverse effect on the former.
The results obtained for rail sections Table 2: Rates of Energy Consumption' an
with electric traction and those with diesel for Freight Traffic (2000-01)

traction are each averaged along with the Type of Section Energy CO2 CO NOX NMVOCs SO2/SOX TSP
results for the corresponding road sections Rail sections with electric traction 0.18 24.25 0.002 0.12 na 0.09 2.43
(Tables 1 and 2). Energy consumption is Corresponding road sections 1.35 99.98 4.64 6.50 1.30 0.53 0.57
derived in units of megajoules (Mj) per Rail sections with diesel traction 0.25 18.46 0.15 0.47 0.03 0.11 0.03
pkm or ntkm, while rates of emission are Corresponding road sections 1.11 78.72 3.65 5.12 1.02 0.42 0.45
expressed in grams (g) per pkm or ntkm. Notes: 1 In Mj per ntkm; 2 In g per ntkm.

4424 Economic and Political Weekly October 18, 2003

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For both electric and diesel traction, rail
passenger movement on road by the car secular drift of traffic away from rail and
and bus combination, and the superiority the particular measures
emits 76-77 per cent less CO2 per ntkm necessary to arrest
than road. of rail is more pronounced for freight move- this trend. It is hoped to deal with these
Emissions of CO, NOX and NMVOCs: Forment. It is only in the case of TSP that rail issues in a subsequent study. Bl11
both passenger and freight movement, the loses its distinct advantage in freight
rail mode has significantly lower rates ofmovement; however, as in the case of CO2 Notes
emission of the other greenhouse gases emissions, this happens only in the case
CO, NOX and NMVOCs even when tran- of electrified rail. [Based on the author's doctoral thesis, submitted
sit by bus on road is considered. An additional exercise was carried out to Jawaharlal Nehru University in August 2003.
The supervision of Ramprasad Sengupta and
Emissions ofSO / SOX: In case of electric to look into the effects of substitution of
financial support from the Asian Institute of
traction on rail, we are comparing SOX gas for coal at thermal power plants. Transport Development are acknowledged.]
emissions attributable to this mode with Emissions attributable to the consumption
1 See, for example, the results quoted in Kenneth
of electricity by the rail mode then come Button, 'Transport, the Environment and
SO2 emissions on road. There is high
down drastically and rail becomes envi-
sulphur content in both the coal used at Economic Policy', Edward Elgar Publishing,
thermal stations and in diesel fuel con-
ronmentally less damaging without any 1993, p 15 on energy efficiency of car, rail and
bus, among other modes. See also G Savelli
sumed by road vehicles. For passenger exception vis-a-vis road. The policy recom-
mendation that follows from the results of and P Domergue, 'Rail Transport and the
movement, electrified rail is not signifi- Greenhouse Effect' and P Wiederkehr,
cantly cleaner than the road mode when the study is therefore greater promotion of 'Environmentally Sustainable Transport
movement by car and bus is considered the
on rail mode at the expense of the road (ES.T):International Perspectives', papers
the latter. Movement by car on road meansmode in the interests of sustainable inter- presented at the UIC-MAPS seminar in New
Delhi in 1998. The reports and publications of
lower emissions than corresponding move- city transport in the country. On sections the Australian Bureau of Transport and
with electrified rail, such modal substitu-
ment by rail. The position of rail improves Communication Economics may also be
tion should be accompanied by measures
somewhat with diesel traction although consulted.

towards lower dependency on coal for the 2

again the option of 'car only' is the cleanest. These figures are based on the Indian Railways
Annulal Statistical Statements for 2000-01 and
Coming to freight movement, we find that generation of electricity and greater reli- on the Report of the Sulb-Group on Traffic
the rail mode retains its advantage over ance on cleaner sources of energy over the Forecasts and Fleet Requirements in the Tenth
the road mode, with emission rates being long-term. Greater efforts should be made Plan', government of India, ministry of surface
appreciably lower - by as much as 73-84 to divert road freight towards rail since the transport, 2001. The latter also gives future
benefits of modal substitution here would estimates of road traffic. For projections of rail
per cent.
traffic, see Expert Group on Indian Railways,
Emissions of TSP: The striking result be greater than for diversion of passenger 'The Indian Railways Report 2001: Policy
obtained in the case of TSP emissions is traffic. Modal substitution of freight traf- Imperativesfor Rein vention and Growth', New
the considerable disadvantage of the rail fic on sections with electrified rail would Delhi, 2001.

mode moving on electric traction. The present the problem of greater energy3 The sections selected for the present study are
as follows: New Delhi-Mughal Sarai, Jalandhar-
result extends even to freight movement. efficiency at the expense of environmental Jammu, Jabalpur-Allahabad, Lucknow-
cleanliness. However, a case may be made Gorakhpur, Secunderabad-Wadi, Gudur-
The very high presence of particulate matter
out for such substitution on these sections
in Indian coal is responsible for this out- Renigunta, Bhopal-Ujjain and Ratlam-Godhra.
come.6 The emission rate of TSP on rail since the adverse effects on human health 4 The energy consumption imputable to electrified
rail was worked out on the basis of an efficiency
of emissions of particulate matter from
is 13-25 times higher than that on road for factor of 33 per cent for the generation of
passenger movement and four times higherintercity transport on are likely to be small electricity in India. The emissions from the
in view of uninhabited stretches and rela-
for freight movement. However, where regional share of thermal electricity were then
estimated.
diesel traction on rail is involved, the road
tively sparse density of population away
5 N J Eyre et al, 'Fuel and Location Effects on
mode has considerably higher rates of TSP from urban areas. Within the road sector,
the Damage Costs of Transport Emissions',
efforts should be directed at encourage- Journal of Transport Economics and Policy,
emission for both passenger and freight
ment of intercity movement by bus in the Volume 31 (1), January, pp 5-24. Oil extraction
movement. In case of the former category
of traffic, the emission rate for roadinterests
is of energy conservation; neverthe- is found to use 4 per cent of its own energy.
Petrol refining typically uses 8 per cent of its
less, in the light of relatively higher
almost two times higher while in case of own energy output, compared with 4 per cent
emissions of NOX, SO2 and TSP from
the latter category it is as much as 15 times for diesel. Distribution of liquid fuels requires
diesel fuel, steps should be taken at the
greater. The study also concerned itself less than I per cent of their energy content. As
same time for the substitution of cleaner
with the emission rates of greenhouse gases far as emissions are concerned, the adjustment
fuels such as CNG. needed to incorporate the upstream effects varies
such as methane and nitrous oxide. It was
from pollutant to pollutant.
found that when expressed per pkm or Our results give broad indication of6the The emission factors of unwashed and washed
ntkm, these rates are insignificant althoughsavings and reductions in energy use and
Singareni/Talcher coal for TSP are respectively
in all cases they are lower for the rail mode.pollution levels if modal substitution 96.96
of and 72.72 kg per million kilocalories.
This means that a thermal plant using coal
The picture then, if freight movementroad by rail takes place in intercity traffic emits almost 40 times more TSP per megajoule
and the more practical option of passenger and the traffic volumes involved are close of energy input in comparison with a heavy-
moveI lent on road by a combination of carto the ones considered in the present study. duty vehicle on road consuming diesel. The
and bus are considered, is one of the rail For a comprehensive assessment of the TSP emission coefficient of gas as a heat input
in thermal plants is only 0.021 kg per million
mode holding superiority in energy effi-relative impact of the rail and road modes
kilocalories. (Data compiled by Centre for
ciency always. In addition, for almost all of transport, one should, however, work Energy, Environment and Technology,
greenhouse gases (the exception being out the external and social costs of these Administrative Staff College, Hyderabad, and
CO2), rail exhibits a lower emission rate, two modes, on the basis of which a stron- quoted in S Basu, 'Environmental Issues in the
its cleanliness being greater for freightger case may be made for the kind of modal Planning for Power System for a Region in
India - Environmental Modelling for Andhra
than for passenger traffic. Emissions ofshift recommended above. In addition, one Pradesh', PhD thesis submitted to Jawaharlal
SO2/SOX are lower on rail vis-a-vis should inquire into the factors behind the Nehru University, 1999).

Economic and Political Weekly October 18, 2003 4425

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