The Assessment of Sustainability of Freight Transportation in Pakistan

This paper examines the carbon footprint of freight transport in Pakistan and evaluates the potential of improving the performance of freight transportation. This study is first of its nature from Pakistan on the quantitative evaluation of the sustainability of freight transport using limited availa...

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Published in:Iranian journal of science and technology. Transactions of civil engineering 2022-06, Vol.46 (3), p.2593-2608
Main Authors: Ahmed, Afzal, Mehdi, Mohammed Raza, Baig, Mirza Asad Ullah, Arsalan, Mudassar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide emissions
Carbon footprint
Civil Engineering
Climate change
Emissions
Engineering
Environmental impact
Footprint analysis
Freight transportation
Fuels
Railroads
Railways
Research Paper
Sustainability
Transportation
Trucks
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Summary:This paper examines the carbon footprint of freight transport in Pakistan and evaluates the potential of improving the performance of freight transportation. This study is first of its nature from Pakistan on the quantitative evaluation of the sustainability of freight transport using limited available data. The trends in the mode share of freight transport in Pakistan are examined. The comparison of truck-based freight transport and rail-based freight transport in terms of carbon footprint and line-haul cost is made. Policy measures are recommended to improve sustainability. The carbon footprint of freight transportation in Pakistan is estimated using the tonnes-km of freight carried by each mode of transport. A detailed survey was conducted to determine the fuel required per unit tonnes-km transport of freight using trucks. The official data from Pakistan Railways were acquired to estimate the fuel required per tonnes-km of freight transportation through railways. Results show that the carbon footprint can be significantly reduced by increasing the share of rail-based freight transportation, which can minimize the impact of freight transportation on climate change. The cost and CO 2 emissions projected for the business-as-usual scenario are compared with proposed improvement scenarios, which recommend the gradual shifting of freight transport to railways. The proposed improvement scenario reduces up to 43% of line-haul cost and CO 2 emissions from freight transport.
ISSN:2228-6160
2364-1843
DOI:10.1007/s40996-022-00830-z