Life cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions in construction, operation and maintenance processes of Shanghai Metro

In China, although per capita energy consumption is lower in the urban rail transit system than other modes of transportation, the total energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions will reach considerable levels based on the current speed of urban rail transit system development. The objective of this research is to use a process-based life cycle assessment to define the system boundaries of the construction, operation, and maintenance processes of Shanghai Metro and to inventory the associated resource inputs (materials, fuels, and equipment) and emission outputs based on actual observed data. A comparative analysis of traction and station operation emissions and the infrastructure emissions structures of different urban rail transit systems around the world is also provided. The results show that the traction emissions per passenger-km traveled of Shanghai Metro are competitive at the global level, but there is still great energy-saving potential in the operation phase, especially in ornately designed train stations. The preliminary conclusions of this study may help shed light on the emission reduction potential of urban rail transit systems and the emission reduction targets in China and serve as a source of information and data for future LCAs.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADC70 Standing Committee on Transportation Energy. Alternate title: Life-Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Urban Rail Transit Systems: Case Study of Shanghai Metro
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Li, Ye
  • He, Qing
  • Zhang, Yiran
  • Yu, Yuewu
  • Shu, Hanyu
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2016-1-10 to 2016-1-14
• Date: 2016

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 13p
• Monograph Title: TRB 95th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Energy consumption; Greenhouse gases; Life cycle analysis; Pollutants; Rail transit; Urban transit
• Geographic Terms: Shanghai (China)
• Subject Areas: Construction; Energy; Maintenance and Preservation; Public Transportation; I50: Construction and Supervision of Construction; I60: Maintenance;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01592064
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 16-0076
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 29 2016 4:55PM