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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Rail Industry teams up with Campaign for Better Transport for World Car Free Day

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In the lead up to World Car Free Day (Sunday 22 September) the rail industry has teamed up with Campaign for Better Transport to show how a small switch, like swapping one return car journey to train, can make a big difference when it comes to helping tackle climate change.

The rail industry’s new research reveals that over two thirds (67%) of people want to reduce their carbon footprint. However, many don’t think it will make a difference (22%), believe it will be too difficult (17%), or that there’s not a lot of information about it (16%).

Switching one return car journey for an average return train journey saves the same CO2 as a person recycling for four weeks, 55 loads of washing at 30 degrees rather than 40, or a person changing six light bulbs to LED.

And, if every one of the 42.3 million licensed car drivers in Britain were to switch one return car journey to train, just once a year, it would save the same amount of CO2 as switching off half of the UK’s street lighting for a year, insulating 265,627 homes or recycling 450 Olympic swimming pools of recyclable rubbish.

Some of the most popular green behaviours that people undertake to reduce their carbon footprint are recycling (83%), reducing food waste (71%), using energy saving lightbulbs (69%) and washing clothes at 30 degrees (58%). The combined carbon savings of recycling, having one vegetarian day a week, replacing light bulbs with LED and washing clothes at 30 rather than 40 degrees, as well as swapping one return journey a month from car to train, can reduce someone’s carbon footprint by 15%.

Making more sustainable choices have been revealed as leaving people feeling happier (24%), healthier (20%) and more positive about the future (19%). With 68% currently feeling scared for future generations and 75% feeling we should all be doing more to reduce our carbon footprint and help tackle climate change.

Travelling by car is nearly five times more polluting than travelling by train, the rail industry is showing those who love their cars, and enjoy driving, how easy it is to reduce their carbon footprint by making a simple switch.

Rail Delivery Group CEO Jacqueline Starr, explains: “Rail travel is one of the greenest forms of public transport, and plays a critical role in helping tackle climate change. Many of us are increasingly concerned about our personal impact on the environment, and what we can do to lessen it, which is why we’re encouraging motorists to swap their car keys for a train ticket just once a year. It’s a small switch that can make a big difference in helping people to reduce their carbon footprint”.

Silviya Barrett, director of policy and campaigns at Campaign for Better Transport, added: “Something as simple as switching a car journey for a train journey is an easy but very impactful way to reduce your carbon footprint. Choosing to travel by train also reduces traffic jams and air pollution while connecting you to the people, places and things you love. This World Car Free Day we’re encouraging everyone to think about which journeys they can switch to train to help tackle climate change.”

Image credit: National Rail

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