Rail environmental impact: energy consumption and noise pollution assessment of different transport modes connecting Big Ben (London, UK) and Eiffel Tower (Paris, FR)

This paper is set within the framework of the RailNewcastle Summer School program 2014 run by Newcastle University. It attempts to explore the sustainability credentials of railways when compared with other transport modes connecting central London with central Paris, two of Europe’s largest metropolis. Specifically, the study compares the energy consumption and noise pollution of a rail-only travel option with two other alternatives using a combination of public transport modes. The analysis includes defining the regulatory framework, sourcing and aggregating energy consumption from a number of references as well as creating noise maps for key nodes using validated tools available. The results suggest that the rail-only option has the best performance of the three options in terms of energy consumption while a bus-coach-metro combination seems to have lower noise levels than the rest. Assumptions due to lack of meaningful data made in the calculation of underground rail services are thought to have influence on the lower than expected performance of rails systems in terms of noise. The authors conclude that considering the combined outcomes of both assessments, the rail-only option is the preferred choice from a sustainability credentials perspective.