Application of lifecycle assessment to Shinkansen vehicles and cross ties in Japan

Abstract

Recently, environmental protection has become one of the most critical concerns on a global scale. Currently, it is widely recognized that lifecycle assessment (LCA) is a very effective instrument used to evaluate the environmental impact of various products quantitatively across their whole lifecycle. A basic LCA survey of Shinkansen vehicles and cross ties was conducted as a case study for the railway system. Through this study, the following results were confirmed. For any type of vehicle, more than 95 per cent of lifecycle energy consumption (LCE) and lifecycle CO2 emission LCCO2 is attributable to vehicle running. Lightweight vehicles, reduction of running resistance and the use of regenerative brakes contribute to energy saving in vehicle running. Regarding the CO2 emission from four types of ties (wood, concrete, synthetic and steel), wood ties emit the least amount of CO2 and synthetic ties the most. When the effect throughout the lifetime is considered, however, wood ties are by no means insignificant in terms of the environmental load. As a result of this survey, useful knowledge for applying LCA to railways was obtained.