Tracks of transition

In this article, we will look at the way electrification of trains—both long distance and city metro railways—are already contributing to reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases and how these need to be expanded. High-speed railways, which have been around ever since Japan introduced the ‘bullet train’ in the 1964 Olympics, are also expanding around the world, with China leading the way. Since High-speed rail is fully electric, it is contributing to controlling greenhouse gas emissions.

Long-distance electric trains

Ever since the first freight train began operations between Stockton and Darlington in England in 1825 and the first passenger train opened between Liverpool and Manchester in England in 1830, the fuel was steam in early years and was later replaced by diesel in the early 20th century. Interestingly, the first electric trains were also introduced at around the same time as diesel trains, but did not really take off because of the much higher infrastructure costs of overhead transmission lines.

The diesel locomotive was a diesel-electric locomotive since it had a mini-power plant implanted in its body. The principle was simple: the diesel engine generated electricity, which then powered the motors attached to the wheels. This converted mechanical energy to electric energy and finally to kinetic energy. As diesel-electric engines became more efficient and larger, they could haul more passenger or freight cars.

Since the 1960s, there has been a shift to fully electric locomotives in Europe and Asia, while the diesel-electric locomotive continues to be dominant in the USA. The EU, Switzerland, Russia, China and India have electrified most of the railway tracks, while the US has very little electrification. While railway electrification has happened in many countries, the source of the electricity continues to be fossil fuels in large countries like India and China. Clearly, the source of grid power has to shift to renewables if climate benefits of rail electrification are to be reaped.

High-speed rail and metro rail

As noted above, the first high speed rail or bullet train/Shinkansen was opened in the 1964 Olympics in Japan between Tokyo and Osaka. This technology was soon adopted by European countries such as Italy, France, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. It later spread to Korea and more recently to China. China expanded its high-speed rail aggressively in the 21st century and with 38,000 km of tracks, it now has the largest such rail network in the world.

Maglev trains are another form of high-speed rail but have a limited presence. These trains, short for Magnetic Levitation, use electromagnetic force to ‘float’ over the rails and are considered more efficient because they eliminate the wheel-track friction. Maglev trains run in China, Korea and Japan on limited tracks.

Metro Rail networks, which are common across cities of the world, also run completely on electricity. Since the days of the London underground, which opened in 1863, metro rails have come a long way. All the large cities in the world in developed countries such as Paris, New York and London were the first to have Metro Rail networks as a part of their mass rapid transit systems. These spread to other European and North American cities. In the late 20th century and 21st century, most big cities in Asia also boasted a Metro Rail network. These developments are important because they contribute to reducing emissions, by putting cars off the roads. Since they run on electricity, they are virtually emissions-free. However, in many developing countries, the electricity source continues to be fossil fuels, which blunts the positive effects of metro rail. As in the case of electric trains and high-speed rails, it’s important to shift the grid to electricity from renewables, to get the fullest benefits of rail electrification.

Conclusion

While electric trains, high-speed rail and metro rail networks have reduced emissions by providing clean and pollution-free means of travel (both inter-city and intra-city), we need to focus on shifting to renewables to get maximum benefits. In the years to come, many more countries will build metro rails and will electrify their rails. This shift to renewables will become even more important.

The writer is Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Mass Education Extension and Library Services and Department of Cooperation, Government of West Bengal