http://www.guardian.co.uk/waste/story/0,12188,1148613,00.html Guardian Unlimited | Special reports |
Pollution: now cars set to be cleaner than rail Juliette Jowit Sunday February 15, 2004 The Observer Battered by criticism of high fares and poor services, Britain's railways could at least claim to be more environmentally-friendly than cars, producing lower levels of pollution. But not any more. Shocking new figures show that Britain's railways are losing their environmental advantage over the car, as cleaner, more efficient engines and fuel mean that, by at least one measure, diesel trains create more pollution. The news has alarmed rail industry chiefs, who fear that a Government already impatient with high costs and poor performance could cut support for the industry. 'Both cars and trucks are getting cleaner and the railway hasn't made very much progress at all over the same period,' said Malcolm Fergusson, senior fellow at the Institute of European Environmental Policy in London. 'There's no doubt road is catching up in terms of emissions and by some standards it could even have over taken it. Over the next decade it's very possible to argue road will be as good, possibly better.' In the past decade, toxic emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulates and sulphur from the British car fleet have halved as pollution from new cars has been slashed by 97 per cent due to advances in petrol, diesel and engines, driven by regulations to force the industry to 'green up'. At the same time, the European car industry has cut carbon dioxide by 13 per cent, and has promised to double that figure - although it may not meet that target because of the popularity of 'people carriers' and other bigger models. Longer term the motor industry hopes to introduce 'clean' engine vehicles: hybrid petrol-electric cars are already gaining popularity. Improvements on rail, however, have been much slower. Tougher European new engine regulations come into force in two years, but it would take decades to replace existing dirtier rolling stock. 'I don't think rail will ever completely lose its way... but old assumptions in rail [that] we were massively ahead in the emissions debate is no longer going to be the case,' said Adrian Lyons, director general of the Railway Forum industry lobby group. David Waboso, technical director of the government's Strategic Rail Authority, said the industry took the threat seriously. 'On carbon dioxide we're good, but on other issues we have got to look at the new generation of engines,' he said. 'What we have got to do is consistently remain competitive.' ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/biofuel/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
