Lifecycle Environmental Impact of High-Speed Rail System in the Houston-Dallas I-45 Corridor

Abstract

Texas has the highest rate of the U.S energy related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and transportation is one of the major contributors. The Houston–Dallas corridor is the busiest routes in Texas. Recently, the development of an intercity High-Speed Rail System (HSR) with Shinkansen N700 series trains has commenced. This study builds the life cycle inventories for vehicles and infrastructure in the HSR system, and conducts a preliminary environmental life cycle assessment. Results indicate that over the design life of the HSR system the total GHG emissions from the vehicle life-time are 9.695 kgCO2eq/VKT, and fossil-fuel usage during vehicle operation is the primary contributor (97%). For the infrastructure, total life-time GHG emissions are 239 kgCO2eq/VKT, out of which, 94% are from the construction stage. Infrastructure is the dominant contributor to end-point impacts in human health category, with 58% of total impact across all damage categories.