초록
PURPOSES : The aim of this article is to compare and identify eco-friendly competitiveness between (regional) motorway and high-speed rail(HSR) from the perspective of $CO_2$ emission in the Republic of Korea. METHODS : In order for an analysis of low-carbon competitiveness between the two modes, $CO_2e$ emission, $CO_2eppk$ (equivalent $CO_2$ gram per passenger kilometer), is employed as a comparison index. As for HSR, the index is calculated based on the passenger transport data and the gross of $CO_2e$ produced by Kyungbu high-speed line in 2013. Additionally, the gross of $CO_2e$ is computed by the greenhouse gas emission factors of domestic electricity generation mix. Regarding the index of motorway, it is directly calculated using both the official $CO_2e$ emission factor and the passenger-car occupancy of motorway. RESULTS : The results revealed, in the case of inter-regional transport, that the $CO_2e$ emission of displacement-based cars is 54.9% less than that of HSR, as the domestic electric power systems heavily relies on the thermal power plants over 66%. Note that internal combustion engines commonly used for vehicles are more energy-efficient than steam-driven turbines usually utilized for thermal power generation. CONCLUSIONS : It can be seen, at the very least in our study, that HSR has no superiority over motorway in the case of $CO_2e$ emission under the situations of domestic electricity generation mix. In addition, advanced eco-friendly vehicles have strong advantages over HSR. Therefore, all-out efforts should be made to develop and harvest renewable energy sources in order to achieve low-carbon HSR, sparing fossil fuels.
