Diesel trains will cancel electric vehicle benefits

A decision to de-electrify KiwiRail will more than negate all the emissions reductions from all the electrical vehicles in New Zealand, a renewable energy expert says.

Last year, KiwiRail said it would move back to diesel trains on the main trunk line, saying all-diesel is better for the environment because it will be better equipped to take freight than trucks on the roads, reports Radio NZ.

Professor Ralph Sims of Massey University says the rail network will generate 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide more annually by de-electrifying – more than cancelling out the 9000 tonnes saved by using 3000 electric vehicles.

“This seems to be going in the opposite direction and would more than negate all the savings of all the electric vehicles that we have running around New Zealand,” Sims says.

He says the rest of the world is decarbonising and that since our 1990 transport emissions have risen by 45%, New Zealand is going the wrong way.