There is an increasing general awareness of the negative impacts of CO2 emissions. Roads around Wellington have been blocked by activists indicating that restoring passenger rail services may help address climate change. Details of their proposals and timeframes are lacking. As the goal seems to be reducing travel emissions, it is important to have accurate comparisons showing the alternatives and most importantly when those alternatives can deliver emission reductions.
The analysis below shows that regional passenger train services prior to about 2030, based on the passenger locomotives currently used, have CO2 emissions higher than are available today with electrified road transport or long distance bus services. Also of importance is that the noxious emissions are 20 to 40 times that of modern diesel buses due to the 2-stroke diesel locomotive engines that pre-date any modern emissions standards.
Costs for subsiding rail services can also be high with the Te Huia Hamilton-Auckland example estimated to have a subsidy of about $120 per passenger. While comparisons with road costs are made, the number of people making use of an inter-region road are dramatically higher than are likely to use rail (using the Te Huia example).
