Energy Efficiency of High-Speed Railways

Abstract

The world is becoming more dependent on energy resources, which translates into political dependency on energy-exported states. This will significantly impact the economy, transport, and the environment around the world. Railway transport is becoming an essential mode of transportation because it can operate on an electrified network and has zero carbon emissions. High-Speed Railways (HSR) is an energy-intensive transport system, and it is important economically and environmentally to reduce the amount of used energy. This study examined high-speed rail from an energy efficiency point of view and found factors that can significantly reduce the energy consumption of high-speed rail. This research aims to answer the question that motivated this research: what fundamental factors affect the energy consumption of the selected HSR systems? It estimated the dynamic changes in the total energy consumption for seven HSR systems from 2010-2017 and benchmarked the most energy efficient HSR systems. The non-radial Data Envelopment Analyses methodology has been used to fulfil this research. To conduct complex statistical analyses, IBM SPSS has been applied. The main findings have shown that the decrease in vehicle mass, improved design of high-speed rolling stock and increased occupancy of trains will support the reduction of energy consumption by high-speed railways. The changes in energy consumption strongly correlate with the type of high-speed rolling stock and operational strategies. The expected outcomes of this research will contribute to developing and advancing more sustainable HSR systems. This research will support train operators in making decisions when acquiring new trains and assess the benefits of acceleration in modernising the current rolling stock.