Svante Axelsson, zero carbon Sweden, writing relevant and engaged about several constructive steps to bring about the transport sector and reduce its emissions in accordance with the government’s climate change targets. We agree that all forms of transport must actively to reduce their environmental impact and we are convinced that all forms of transport are needed – both now and in the future. But that does not clearly point out the railway’s role when a transporteffektivt society should be prioritised, we believe, is a mistake.
Let us note, the railway is already an electrified modes of transport. A train ride is approximately 20,000 times more climate-smart than an average drive on the stretch Stockholm – Gothenburg, it means that you can take the train 1 time per day in 54 years to reach the release from a single drive. Similarly, a freight train 900 miles, while a truck can only reach the 2 mile, with the same carbon emissions. To reduce emissions by purposefully steer towards a larger part of the transport performed by rail is thus by far the lowest hanging fruit. Both in a perspective to 2030, but also, equally important, the here and now.
About 20 years, we are two million more inhabitants in Sweden. We know that the need for personal travel and freight transport will increase substantially. The Swedish transport administration has forecast that freight transport increases by 40 per cent by 2030. And on the persontransportsidan are already in the day the car for over 75% of all trips longer than 10 miles.
We must have the courage to ask where the electricity is doing the greatest benefit, that is to say, make a comparison of electricity consumption between the various transport modes in relation to the performed transport work.
Rail transport has several advantages. A double track has the same capacity as a femtonfilig drive, but takes a fraction of the space. Rail transport in Sweden is virtually free from emissions of greenhouse gases but also free from micro-particles from tyre and road surface that electric vehicles continued to cause. The low air resistance and low rolling resistance enables the same transport with an electric car will need about three times as much energy. We must have the courage to ask where the electricity is doing the greatest benefit, that is to say, make a comparison of electricity consumption between the various transport modes in relation to the performed transport work.
Figures from the railway group at KTH shows that there is a truck through the Scania was the fifteenth of a second on the way to or from Denmark and the continent. The higher capacity means that they could be replaced by a freight train every 40 minutes. Today run only Green Cargo 400 freight trains per day in Sweden. This corresponds to approximately 10,000 truck shipments. It would clearly be an advantage if more trucks instead could be godstågstransporter, not only in terms of environmental and climate issues, but also from an vägtrafiksäkerhetsperspektiv.
in Recent years, the Swedish transport administration appropriations for maintenance and reinvestment has increased and you are going to pay off underhållsskulden for the big bow. But we have a long line of measures. In the national plan for the coming years are also a number of trimming actions for a limited amount of will give positive effects in the near future for the railway’s function and capacity.
In the slightly longer perspective, however, it is inevitable that the capacity needs to be built out forcefully about the railway to be able to play a role in the development of future fossil-free Sweden. The best way is undoubtedly to separate fast and slow trains by building new railroad lines. When the rapid persontågen not likely to run to catch up with the slow, we can switch out the more capacity – the number of freight trains can thus several-fold – and create a more robust rail.
It is necessary a conversion of the transport sector for Sweden is to reach the climate goals and we both are, want to and must be an integral part of the solution.
