Arpad Horvath, Mikhail Chester Publish New Study on CA High Speed Rail

Featured Faculty: Arpad Horvath

Professor Arpad Horvath and co-author Mikhail Chester's (CEE PhD '08) paper "High-speed rail with emerging automobiles and aircraft can reduce environmental impacts in California's future" (Environmental Research Letters) compares the future sustainability of California high-speed rail with that of competing modes of transportation, namely automobile and air travel.

The authors determined that, in terms of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, a mature high-speed rail system wins out when it deploys state-of-the-art trains powered by greener electricity. This was true even after accounting for the emergence of more fuel-efficient airplanes and automobiles.

See
Future of California high-speed rail looks green (press release, UC Berkeley Newscenter)

High-speed rail could benefit California (press release, Environmental Research Web)

Published