CO2 Calculator - Emissions from Trains
Calculator for CO2 emissions from trains, comparing with alternative forms of transportation (as plane, bus, conventional and electrical cars).
Online CO2 calculator for travel by train
By filling in the required information, the calculator below can be used to estimate the CO2 emissions from your travels by train.
Additionally, it compares with emissions from alternative ways of travel.
How far do you travel?
Kilometer Miles
How is the utilization of train capasity?
% filled up (for trains, typical average filling degree is between 30 and 55%)
Choose the actual energy source of your train (definitions are given below):
Diesel Low CO2 elMedium CO2 elHigh CO2 el
Not sure how far you are going? See Driving distance between European cities and Flight distances between cities in and between different continents.
See also similar CO2 calculators for more details about emissions from cars and airplanes.
Unit converter for conversion to and from non-SI units.
A few words about the assumptions for the calculator:
- The CO2 emissions are strongly dependent on the energy source of the trains. We have used four different classes:
Diesel: No electric power
Low CO2 el: Mainly non-emission electric power (hydroelectric, sun, wind etc)
Medium CO2 el: An even blend of non-emission electric power and power from power plants fired with hydrocarbons (gass, oil or coal)
High CO2 el: Mainly power from hydrocarbon fired power plants
- In comparison with alternative ways of travel, the efficiency regard to distance is set to be:
Train: 1 (reference)
Bus: 0.95 km/km train
Car: 0.92 km/km train
Plane: 0.75 km/km train
(The difference is due to more straight driving lines for cars and planes)
- Electrical cars are assumed to have the same electricity source as the trains on electrical power. Diesel trains are compared with electrical cars using Medium CO2 el.