Reduction potential of greenhouse gas emissions by the operation of high-speed railway from transportation sector

초록

In Korea, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of transportation sector has over 20% ratio, which main emission source is road transport. The representative GHG reduction methods of transportation are the development of new cars with clean energy like fuel cell, electricity, etc. and the modal shift into low-carbon transport mode such as railway. The purpose of this study was to assess the GHG reduction potential from transportation sector according to the operation of high-speed railway (HSR) in Korea. The Korean HSR, called as KTX (Korea Train eXpress), has been operated since 2004. Target periods were from April, 2003 to March, 2004 before the operation of KTX and from April, 2004 to March, 2005 after the operation of KTX. Target line was from Busan to Seoul. As a result, the GHG emission of railway increased by 50.6%, but the total GHG emission of transportation decreased about 9.3%. Especially, the GHG emission of domestic air was reduced by 42.2% according to the operation of KTX. Therefore, it confirmed that the modal shift could be an important tool to decrease the GHG emission of transportation sector.