Environmental Impact Study

A comparative assessment of CO2 usage Commissioned by The North Devon Rail Users Group

Environmental Impact Study 2008

Travel modes from and to Barnstaple Station

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Introduction

3. Results 3.1.1.

Roundswell to Exeter Central

3.1.2.

Roundswell to Bristol Temple Meads

3.1.3.

Roundswell to Birmingham New Street

3.1.4.

Roundswell to London Paddington

3.1.5.

Manchester to Barnstaple

3.1.6.

Road and Rail freight comparison

4. Summary

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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1. Executive Summary North Devon Rail Users Group has instructed Envision to look at the CO2 implications of various methods of travel from and to Barnstaple Station in North Devon, UK. The CO2 associated with one person and a family of four were calculated for the following journeys: 1. Roundswell-Exeter Central (via Tarka Line) 2. Roundswell-Bristol Temple Meads (via Tarka Line) 3. Roundswell-Birmingham New Street (via Tarka Line) 4. Roundswell-London Paddington (via Tarka Line) These journeys compare travelling by car to Barnstaple station and Tiverton Parkway and then on by train to the same destinations.

In addition, a bus journey to Barnstaple Station from Roundswell was compared to the above. It was not possible to include a bus journey to Tiverton Parkway from Roundswell as no direct service operates along this route.

The results show that there is a significant CO2 reduction associated with travelling by train from Barnstaple, as opposed to travelling from Tiverton Parkway by train, to all the destinations listed above. These reductions range from approximately 169% to 1 %. The size of this reduction is dependant on the journeys’ relative road to train distance. The most significant CO2 saving comes from the journey Barnstaple to Exeter Central, and the least from the journeys to Birmingham and London. Reductions of CO2 by utilising a bus as opposed to driving a car to Barnstaple Station range from approximately 1% to 5 % but this may underplay other localised pollution and congestion impacts not assessed in this study.

A common journey of Roundswell to Exeter Central, solely by car, was compared to driving as far as Barnstaple station then taking the train to Exeter Central. This calculation revealed a significant saving of CO2 of 130% for one person in a small car and 165% for a family of four in a medium car.

A separate part of the study looked at the CO2 impacts associated with people utilising North Devon as a holiday destination and 3 modes of travel used to arrive in Barnstaple from Manchester. The three modes of travel were flying to Exeter and hiring a car to drive to Barnstaple; driving from Manchester to Barnstaple and getting a train from Manchester to Barnstaple.

The results of this sub study show significant CO2 reductions associated with travelling by train as opposed to flying or driving. When train travel is compared to flying a 174% reduction in CO2 emissions are achieved and when train travel is compared to driving a 152% reduction is recorded.

A final analysis looked at the CO2 emissions associated with different freight haulage options. These figures show that there are significant reductions in CO2 emissions when switching from road to rail haulage. Specific figures cannot be included as the calculations need to be done on tonnage per kilometre in order to make road and rail directly comparable, although the example worked in this report does point to a difference of over 7 times more CO2 by road compared with rail haulage.

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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2. Introduction North Devon Rail Users Group has instructed Envision to look at the CO2 implications of various methods of travel, using car, bus and train from and to Barnstaple Station in North Devon, UK. Various journeys originating from Roundswell in Barnstaple were compared to take into account the relative CO2 emissions associated with these journeys. The following journeys were assessed: 1.

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Roundswell (small car) - Barnstaple Station - Exeter Central (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (small car) - Barnstaple Station Bristol - Temple Meads (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (small car) - Barnstaple Station - Birmingham New Street (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (small car) - Barnstaple Station - London Paddington (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (medium car) - Barnstaple Station - Exeter Central (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (medium car) - Barnstaple Station - Bristol-Temple Meads (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (medium car) - Barnstaple Station Birmingham - New Street (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (medium car) - Barnstaple Station - London Paddington (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (bus) - Barnstaple Station - Exeter Central (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (bus) - Birmingham New Street (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (bus) - Bristol Temple Meads (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (bus) - London Paddington (via Tarka Line) Roundswell (small car) -Tiverton Parkway Station - Exeter Central Roundswell (small car) - Tiverton Parkway Station - Birmingham New Street Roundswell (small car) - Tiverton Parkway Station - Bristol Temple Meads Roundswell (small car) -Tiverton Parkway Station - London Paddington Roundswell (medium car) - Tiverton Parkway Station - Exeter Central Roundswell (medium car) - Tiverton Parkway Station - Birmingham New Street Roundswell (medium car) - Tiverton Parkway Station - Bristol Temple Meads Roundswell (medium car) - Tiverton Parkway Station - London Paddington Roundswell – Exeter Central (small car all by road) Roundswell – Exeter Central (medium car all by road)

In addition, a comparison of journeys undertaken to visit Barnstaple in North Devon from Manchester was completed. The following journeys were assessed: 1. Manchester - Barnstaple by air (driving from Exeter Airport to Barnstaple) 2. Manchester - Barnstaple by car 3. Manchester - Barnstaple by train A formula for calculating the relative CO2 impacts on carrying freight by road and rail has been included in the report below. There are various figures available for the CO2 emissions depending on the size, type and payload of HGVs, therefore individual calculations will need to be made for comparisons to rail freight.

CO2 emissions for small and medium cars, bus and train were taken from Guidelines to Defra’s greenhouse gas (GHC) conversion factors for Company Reporting, June 2007. Small and medium car emissions statistics were used to represent 1 and 4 person journeys respectively. An average of diesel and petrol car statistics were used to simplify the comparisons.

Defra's figures have been updated and republished (June 2008) since the calculations were made for this report. These figures have not been used because all the work was already complete when the new guidance was released. The 2008 figures for car emissions have not generally changed for petrol and have increased slightly for diesel since 2007. The net difference is roughly a 10% increase on the CO2 emissions for car journeys however this is very much dependant on the specific car driven.

Distance information was gathered from Multimap for car journeys, Traveline for bus journeys, North Devon Rail Users Group for train journeys and Flybe for flights.

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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3. Results The following section presents the results of the all the journeys.

3.1 Roundswell - Exeter Central

Journey Description Roundswell - Exeter Central 14.00 12.00

CO2 kgs

10.00 8.00 6.00 4.00

RoundswellCentral Exeter (medium car all by road)

RoundswellCentral Exeter (small car all by road)

RoundswellTiverton P'way Station (medium car)-Exeter Central-train

RoundswellTiverton P'way Station (small car)-Exeter Central-train

RoundswellBarnstaple Station (bus)Exeter Centraltrain

RoundswellBarnstaple Station (small car)-Exeter Central-train

0.00

RoundswellBarnstaple Station (medium car)-Exeter Central-train

2.00

It is noteworthy to see the large difference in emissions between driving to Tiverton Parkway and getting the train from Barnstaple to travel to Exeter Central. 1 person travelling to Exeter Central (small car) generates 139% more CO2 emissions by driving to Tiverton Parkway to get Exeter Central than by getting the train from Barnstaple. The difference for the same journey using a medium car is 169%. 5% more CO2 emissions are generated by driving to Barnstaple Station to get a train to Exeter Central as opposed to getting the bus to Barnstaple station although this does not take into account localised pollution and congestion impacts not assessed in this study.

The CO2 emissions associated with driving a car all the way from Roundswell to Exeter Central are also significantly higher than taking the train from Barnstaple. This is certainly a frequent journey for local people and with CO2 savings of 130% (small car) and 165% (medium car) this is a significant impact.

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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3.2 Roundswell - Bristol Temple Meads

Roundswell-Tiverton P'way Station (medium car)-Bristol TM

Roundswell-Tiverton P'way Station (small car)-Bristol TM

Roundswell-Barnstaple Station (bus)-Exeter St Davids-Bristol TM

Roundswell-Barnstaple Station (medium car)-Exeter St DavidsBristol TM

18.00 16.00 14.00 12.00 10.00 8.00 6.00 4.00 2.00 0.00 Roundswell-Barnstaple Station (small car)-Exeter St DavidsBristol TM

CO2 Kgs

Journey Description - Roundswell - Bristol TM

The difference between starting a train journey in Barnstaple and driving to Tiverton Parkway when travelling to Bristol Temple Meads by train is less marked than the journeys to Exeter Central. A small car traveling to Tiverton Parkway generates 26% more CO2 than one travelling only as car as Barnstaple Station and then going via the Tarka Line. The difference for the same journey using a medium car is 39%. 2% more CO2 emissions are generated by driving to Barnstaple Station get to Bristol Temple Meads as opposed to getting the bus to Barnstaple station, although this does not take into account localised pollution and congestion impacts not assessed in this study.

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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3.3 Roundswell - Birmingham New Street

Journey Description - Roundswell - Birmingham NS 30.00 25.00

CO2 Kgs

20.00 15.00 10.00

RoundswellTiverton P'way Station (medium car)-Birmingham NS

RoundswellTiverton P'way Station (small car)-Birmingham NS

RoundswellBarnstaple Station (bus)Exeter St DavidsBirmingham NS

RoundswellBarnstaple Station (medium car)-Exeter St DavidsBirmingham NS

0.00

RoundswellBarnstaple Station (small car)-Exeter St DavidsBirmingham NS

5.00

Driving to Tiverton Parkway in a small car when travelling to Birmingham New Street generates 14.47% more CO2 emissions than getting the train from Barnstaple. The difference for the same journey using a medium car is 21.48%. 1% more CO2 emissions are generated by driving to Barnstaple Station on the same journey as opposed to getting the bus to Barnstaple station, and this does not take into account localised pollution and congestion impacts not assessed in this study.

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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3.4 Roundswell - London Paddington

Journey Description - Roundswell - London Paddington 30.00

CO2 Kgs

25.00 20.00 15.00 10.00

Roundswell-Tiverton P'way Station (medium car)-London Padd

Roundswell-Tiverton P'way Station (small car)-London Padd

Roundswell-Barnstaple Station (bus)-Exeter St Davids-London Padd

Roundswell-Barnstaple Station (small car)-Exeter St DavidsLondon Padd

0.00

Roundswell-Barnstaple Station (medium car)-Exeter St DavidsLondon Padd

5.00

Driving to Tiverton Parkway in a small car when travelling by train to London Paddington generates 14.47% more CO2 emissions than by getting the train all the way from Barnstaple. The difference for the same journey using a medium car is 21.34%. 1% more CO2 emissions are generated by driving to Barnstaple Station on the same journey as opposed to getting the bus to Barnstaple station, and this does not take into account localised pollution and congestion impacts not assessed in this study.

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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3.5 Manchester - Barnstaple

Journey Description - Manchester - Barnstaple 90.00 80.00

CO2 Kgs

70.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 Manchester Exeter St DavidsBarnstaple (train)

Manchester Barnstaple (car)

Manchester Exeter(plane)Barnstaple (car)

0.00

When comparing different modes of travel from Manchester to Barnstaple, air and road travel generate 174% and 153% more CO2 emissions respectively than travelling by train.

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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3.6 Road and Rail Freight Comparison: Taking freight off the road and onto the Tarka Line would provide significant CO2 savings. The calculation of CO2 emissions of freight transport on road and rail is best calculated (as recommended by Defra) using a figure of tonnes multiplied by kilometres travelled (tonne.km). For example: An HGV carrying 5 tonnes freight over 100 km = 500 tonne.km There are various factors calculated by Defra for the CO2 emissions of road freight. These vary according to the size and type of vehicle, set out below. If the vehicle size or type is not known then average figures can be used.

Diesel HGV Road Frieght Rigid 3.5-7.5t Rigid 7.5-17t 17t Rigid average Articulated 3/5-33t Articulated 33t Articulated average HGV average

kg Co2 /unit 0.59 0.34 0.19 0.28 0.16 0.06 0.09 0.13

Unit tonne km tonne km tonne km tonne km tonne km tonne km tonne km tonne km

These figures compare very favourably with rail freight in terms of CO2 emissions.

Other freight Rail

kg CO2/unit 0.02

Unit tonne km

So to transport a full load of 21 tonnes of food from central Bristol to Barnstaple (170km) by road in an articulated HGV or by rail freight: Articulated HGV (average): 21 (tonnes) * 155 (km) * 0.09 (CO2 factor) = 292.95 kg CO2 Rail freight: 21 (tonnes) * 96 (km) * 0.02 (CO2 factor) = 40.32 kg CO2 The CO2 emissions are over 7 times greater using road transport, although it is important to consider a couple of points. First, the distance in kilometres is for a journey to Bristol Temple Meads as this is the journey distance we have for rail travel and the road freight needs a directly comparable figure. Second, no consideration of the use of road haulage at either end of the journey to load and unload the rail freight containers. Third, the type of HGV used will have a very large impact on the CO2 emissions because the factors have such a wide variance.

These three factors should be considered when directly comparing road and rail freight on the Tarka Line in the future, potentially making the CO2 comparisons even more attractive to rail.

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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4

Summary

The study assessed CO2 emissions associated with travelling from Roundswell in Barnstaple via the Tarka Line and Main Line (from Tiverton Parkway) to Exeter Central, Bristol Temple Meads, Birmingham New Street and London Paddington. In all cases the CO2 associated with travelling from Tiverton Parkway to the various destinations resulted in at least 14.5% and at the most 169% more emissions than be travelling via the Tarka Line.

The relative distance of road to train kilometres appears to have a strong influence on the extent of increasing CO2 emissions. For instance, travelling from Roundswell to Exeter Central via Tiverton Parkway in medium car generates 169% more CO2 emissions than travelling to the same destination on the Tarka line. Road versus train kilometres travelled in this journey are 59 km and 64 km. In other words, the distance travelled by road is almost the same as that travelled by train.

Alternatively, travelling from Roundswell to London Paddington via Tiverton Parkway in a medium car generates 21.34% more CO2 than travelling via the Tarka Line. Road versus train kilometres travelled in this journey are 59km and 253km. The proportion of road kilometres is lower because the majority of the journey is completed by train.

Looking at the CO2 emissions for the journey from Roundswell to Exeter Central completed by car or by train from Barnstaple Station shows a difference of 130% (small car) and 165% (medium car).

Again, this is a journey with a high proportion of road to rail kilometres. The study also assessed the CO2 emissions associated with travelling from Manchester to Barnstaple via three modes of travel. The results of this assessment showed that air and road travel generate 174% and 153% more CO2 emissions respectively than travelling by train.

Finally when road and railway freight CO2 emissions were compared a 7 times improvement on CO2 emissions were demonstrated over road haulage.

Note: The information contained within this report is confidential and will not be shared without the prior agreement of the client organisation. Intellectual copyright remains with the Envision Partnership. Your attention is drawn to the fact that the basis of this review is that it is an overview, and as with all audits can only be a “snapshot� of the company, its performance and commitments. Failure to observe non-compliance with legislation and evidence of lack of commitment to good practice does not mean that they do not exist, only that they were not observed by the assessors at the time of this review.

Envision, 5 Caddsdown Industrial Park, Clovelly Road, Bideford, Devon, EX39 3DX. T: 01237 470020, E: thomas.store@envisionsw.org.uk, W: www.envision-sw.org.uk

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Price £3.00 (where sold)

 North Devon Rail Users Group and Envision 2008