Rail industry highlights environmental impact of switching from cars to trains

Credit: National Rail

The rail industry, in collaboration with Campaign for Better Transport, has highlighted the potential environmental benefits of choosing train travel over car journeys. New research from the industry shows that replacing even one return car journey with a train trip can significantly reduce carbon emissions, a key factor in addressing climate change.

The study reveals that 67% of people are interested in reducing their carbon footprint. However, 22% are skeptical that individual actions will have an impact, 17% find the changes too challenging, while 16% say there is not enough information available on how to make a difference.

According to the research, a single round-trip car-to-train switch can save as much CO2 as four weeks of recycling or 55 loads of laundry washed at 30°C instead of 40°C. If all 42.3 million licensed drivers in Britain made just one car-to-train switch annually, it would save the same amount of carbon as turning off half of the UK’s streetlights for a year or insulating over 265,000 homes.

Popular green habits, such as recycling (83%), reducing food waste (71%) and using energy-efficient light bulbs (69%), are already helping people reduce their environmental impact. Combining these behaviours with just one train journey per month could cut a person’s carbon footprint by up to 15%, according to the research.

Choosing more sustainable actions not only helps the planet but also boosts personal wellbeing. The findings show that 24% of people feel happier, 20% feel healthier and 19% feel more optimistic about the future when making greener choices. Despite this, 68% of respondents expressed fear for future generations and 75% believe more needs to be done to reduce emissions.

As car travel produces nearly five times more pollution than train travel, the rail industry aims to show how switching to trains can offer an easy way for drivers to lessen their environmental impact.

CEO at Rail Delivery Group, Jacqueline Starr, explains: “Many of us are increasingly concerned about our personal impact on the environment, and what we can do to lessen it, which is why we’re encouraging motorists to swap their car keys for a train ticket just once a year. It’s a small switch that can make a big difference in helping people to reduce their carbon footprint”.

Silviya Barrett, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Something as simple as switching a car journey for a train journey is an easy but very impactful way to reduce your carbon footprint. Choosing to travel by train also reduces traffic jams and air pollution while connecting you to the people, places and things you love.”