Happy National Train Day!

May 9 is National Train Day, one of my favorite holidays. (Well, since it was created last year, at least.) I find trains to be a particularly great way to travel, for both short and long trips. In fact, I took a 6,000-mile trip around the country in January on Amtrak. It was fantastic. But even if you’re not going to use trains for such purposes, it’s good to keep in mind a few things about rail travel (and rail freight) and how environmentally friendly it is. Well, at least compared to other forms of transportation.

• An Amtrak train uses substantially less energy per passenger-mile than cars, buses or domestic airline travel. In fact, trains use only about two-thirds of the nearest competitor.
• Trains carry about 40 percent of the country’s freight, but account for less than 3 percent of all transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. A train can carry a ton of freight 436 miles on a single gallon of fuel.
• Amtrak ridership has increased for six straight years. In 2008, Amtrak trains carried 28.7 million passengers. It also employs more than 18,000 people around the country.

The future of rail travel

President Obama threw his support behind rail travel earlier this year when he included an ambitious plan for creating new high-speed rail lines over 10 high-traffic intercity corridors around the country. The stimulus bill included $8 billion toward these high-speed lines, which will cover such important corridors as San Francisco-Los Angeles, Orlando-Miami, and Houston-Atlanta. It is estimated that if all 10 of the proposed corridors are built, it could result in an annual emission reduction of more than 3 million tons of carbon dioxide.

This speedy vision of railroads’ future may still be years away, but for now, give National Train Day a passing glance. If possible, don’t drive it or fly it—train it instead.

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