California mulls world's greenest train

A high-speed train system planned for California could be run with zero emissions, according to a leading US energy consultant.

The report by Navigant Consulting for the California High-Speed Rail Authority found that generating the 3,380 Gigawatt hours a year of energy needed to run the Sacramento to San Diego link from renewable sources is "well within the capabilities of the state".

"Integrating renewable energy into the high-speed train project would be neither cost- nor resource- prohibitive and would be well in line with the more sustainable future that California is trying to ensure for itself," the report said.

The California High Speed Rail Authority welcomed the news and said it would do all it could to pursue the new zero-carbon strategy.

"We've always known that electric high-speed trains represent a tremendous opportunity to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals by removing cars from the road and by slowing demand for additional air travel," said Quentin L Kopp, chairman of the High Speed Rail Authority. "But today, we welcome the news that this train is even greener, in that it can be powered with none of the emissions that cause global warming."

The train network, which will link that state's main population centres including San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, is expected to transport 94 million passengers by 2030. It is also estimated that the 220mph trains will reduce travel times across the state allowing travellers to get from Sacramento in the north of the state to Los Angeles in just two hours 17 minutes.

The report also concluded that should renewable energy become prohibitively expensive, the Authority should be able to use a mixed supply of renewable and non-renewable power.