Answers to questions.
Wide-scale modal shift to rail: what’s at stake for the climate?
Given the urgency of climate change, the challenge of modal shift to greener modes of transport such as rail is more important than ever.
Modal shift refers to the shift from one mode of transport to another. The transport sector (the movement of people and goods by road, air and sea) is currently the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The sector is also a major emitter of air pollutants that affect air quality.
In 2021, almost a third (31%) of France’s total greenhouse gas emissions came from transport. Road transport (private cars, commercial vehicles, heavy goods vehicles and two-wheelers) is responsible for almost all (94%) of these emissions, which contribute to global warming. The GPSO makes rail an alternative to car and air. It covers both passenger and freight transport.
Increasing rail freight capacity
On the Atlantic coast, more than 97% of goods are transported by road, causing disturbances, congestion and pollution on the Bordeaux–Spain routes and north of Bordeaux. The pollution caused by these roads is particularly visible on the map of areas in Nouvelle-Aquitaine sensitive to air quality. (See link to map.)
By freeing up train slots on existing lines, the new line will increase freight capacity.
There are currently between 10 and 18 freight trains a day, operated by all types of rail company: that’s less than 10% of the 10,000 lorries a day on the Atlantic route. The high-speed line project will increase rail freight capacity to around 80–85 trains per day.
Attracting air passengers
Depending on the source (e.g. the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) or the Ministry of Ecological Transition), trains emit 50 to 70 times less CO₂ than planes.
The example of the Paris–Marseille high-speed line has shown that three hours is equivalent to the journey time of a high-speed train (TGV), allowing 60 to 70% of air traffic to be transferred to trains.
In competition with Paris–Toulouse commuter air route, the busiest route in Europe, the high-speed line offers an alternative to air travel, connecting Toulouse and Paris in a record time of three hours, 10 minutes.
As a result, the Toulouse–Bordeaux–Dax high-speed line will help to avoid 4.3 million car journeys and 1 million plane journeys every year. Ultimately, the project will save 7.7 million car journeys and 2 million plane journeys per year.