Evaluating the environmental performance of the high speed rail project in the Basque Country, Spain

Abstract

This paper analyses the contribution of the high speed rail project in the Basque Country, Spain, to energy consumption reduction and to climate change mitigation by means of a simplified Life Cycle Assessment. The calculation of CO2 emissions and energy consumption reductions over the service lifetime of the infrastructure (60 years) shows that, even in the most optimistic scenarios considered, it would neither compensate the CO2 emissions linked to its construction and maintenance (2,71 MtCO2), nor would it contribute to net energy savings before 55 years of service. Robustness of these results leads us to conclude that GHG emissions reduction and energy savings should not be used as a general argument in favour of investing in high-speed rail infrastructure.