Auto energy use is less than that of modern rail lines

by Cody Hensarling

Honolulutraffic.com recently released an important commentary debunking the myth that rail usage is less energy-intensive than auto vehicles.

The summary of the commentary as presented by Honolulutraffic: “Rail transit in New York is more energy efficient than your car. But you don’t live there. The Honolulu rail transit would be more energy efficient than your car when it would be coming into town in the morning rush hour, or going out of town in the afternoon rush hour. But on the way back it would not be. And in between rush hours it would be grossly energy inefficient. This is why overall your car would be more energy efficient than rail transit. You can read the proof of this in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Transportation Energy Data Book. You might find it an easier read to download our “No energy savings” article which brings together the relevant energy data from the DOE book and puts it in context. Don’t take any guff from the transit folks on this matter; explore it for yourself.”Rail Energy Use Full Commentary

Cody Hensarling is an intern at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii.