Amtrak adds carbon emission information on all Northeast Corridor tickets

All passengers traveling on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor (NEC), between Boston and Washington, D.C., now will be provided their trip-specific carbon emissions savings.

Savings are calculated by showing riders how much they saved by not driving, as well as how much they saved by not flying. That difference between train travel and each of these alternative modes is the passenger’s carbon emissions savings (Co2e) with taking Amtrak, railroad officials said in a press release.

On the NEC, travel with Amtrak produces 83% less emissions than driving alone and up to 73% less than flying, according to the release. 

This new feature will serve as a pilot program as Amtrak plans to introduce carbon emissions savings on all tickets across the national network in the future. The emissions calculations are generated from the EPA’s GHG Emission Hub, which multiplies the mode of travel factor (kg CO2e/pm) by passenger miles (pm) and equals total kgs of CO2e (per passenger).