The new report from Amtrak shows the company was able to reduce diesel usage and air emissions, despite a resurgence in passenger rail.
As part of its 2022 Sustainability Report, Amtrak said it was able to incorporate environmental considerations into all of its business operations while bringing more trains to more places and expanding its transit network.
“Sustainability sits at the heart of Amtrak’s value proposition: we aim to get you there reliably, safely and with a smaller impact on the environment,” said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner. “As we build a more modern Amtrak with federal funding from the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), we aim to lead a new era of sustainable passenger rail.”
According to the report, Amtrak has cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 450,000 metric tons since 2010. That figure, the company said, doesn’t include how many more GHG emissions were avoided every time a passenger chose to take a train rather than drive a car or take a plane to their destination. Trains save up to 83 percent of GHG emissions over cars and 72 percent over planes.
The company said it hopes to reach net zero GHG emissions by 2045, through expanding efforts to reduce its environmental impacts across its entire carbon footprint. Additionally, the report said, Amtrak is pursuing several fossil fuel reduction options, including supporting a pilot program in California for the use of renewable diesel and a program in Chicago that reduces fuel usage by using automatic engine start-stop technology to shut down engines when not in use.
Amtrak said it is “steadfast in a commitment to climate resiliency” looking forward and will explore technology to improve and manage operations in changing conditions.