Trains Provide Tiny Carbon Footprint on a Per Mile-Ton Basis

If it’s true that there are guy-things and girl-things, trains most certainly fit into the former category.  But in addition to their mysterious appeal to the male instinct/libido/whatever-it-is, trains provide numerous other benefits to our society, mainly that they offer the best deal in terms of carbon footprint per mile-ton; it’s somewhere between a 5:1 to a 16:1 advantage vs. air travel, and about a 2:1 advantage over truck.

Here’s a video that provide an almost hypnotic effect, showing a 200-rail-car train en route from Germany to Shanghai.  Plans are in the works to increase the trains to 300 rail-cars of double-decker containers.