2012 Rail Trends - Railway Association of Canada

Environment
Canada’s legacy of profound scenic beauty is
recognized around the world, and rail is part of
maintaining the country’s natural splendour. In
addition to moving people, goods and the economy,
Canada’s railways boast a first-rate environmental
record and commitment to sustainability. While the
country’s rail sector often moves more than 70 per
cent of all surface goods each year, it only accounts for
3.4 per cent of the transportation sector’s Greenhouse
Gas Emissions (GHG) and less than 1 per cent
of Canada’s overall GHGs. 4 Since 1995, Canada’s
freight and passenger rail sectors have participated
in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with
the Government of Canada to voluntarily reduce
GHGs and Criteria Air Contaminants (CAC). Under this
initiative, the sector has committed to GHG and CAC reduction targets for
freight, short line, intercity and commuter railways, and it will continue to
work with governments, communities and other private sector partners to
increase the sustainability of the Canadian supply chain.
2012
18
2011 environmental highlights:
••
The sector reduced fuel consumption by 3.1 per cent compared
to 2010.
••
The industry’s number of freight car inventory was basically
unchanged from a year before and its locomotive fleet increased
by 23 locomotives. However, Canadian railways managed to
lower the miles (kilometres) of road operated (road over which
a railway has operating rights) by 1.8 per cent from 2010.
••
Dangerous goods (DG) leaker incidents accounted for 25 per
cent of all reportable incidents, the lowest share to date.
4 Source: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 2010.