Transport in India contributes to 13% of total carbon emissions in India. Since vehicle activity is expected to grow 3-3.5 times between 2020 and 2050, decarbonising the transport sector is crucial for India to move towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
In India, around 65% of freight and 90% of passenger traffic takes place by road (the percentages are similar for many countries worldwide). While decarbonization of road transport through electric vehicles is an ongoing project, electrification of heavy-duty trucks could take quite a while, and these trucks are responsible for about 55% of the energy consumption from road transport.
One interesting idea that has been put forward to reduce CO2 emissions from HCVs is to shift long-distance passenger and freight movement to railways.
With this in mind, the national committee had proposed an increase in rail investment from 0.4 to 1.2% of GDP by 2030. Plans are also afoot to significantly boost railway capacity, including the construction of dedicated freight corridors and high-speed rail.
Very few of us think about rail freight because it is not as visible as road freight, but it appears that this low-profile sector could be a key decarbonization tool.
