Calculate rail journey emissions and compare with flying and driving.
Electric rail emissions depend entirely on the grid supplying it, so the same train is nearly carbon-free in France and considerably worse in a coal-dependent grid. Even so, rail beats flying by a wide margin almost everywhere. Rail typically cuts emissions by 80 to 90 per cent against flying for the same route, which makes it the largest single reduction a traveller can make.
Train Carbon Footprint
Electric rail emissions = energy per passenger km × grid carbon intensity
Electric rail emissions = energy per passenger km × grid carbon intensity Electric rail emissions depend entirely on the grid supplying it, so the same train is nearly carbon-free in France and considerably worse in a coal-dependent grid. Even so, rail beats flying by a wide margin almost everywhere.
Rail typically cuts emissions by 80 to 90 per cent against flying for the same route, which makes it the largest single reduction a traveller can make.
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Distance, Train type, Grid carbon intensity, Return journey. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.