Green 14 ditch the plane and take the train to Australian Clean Energy Summit

A group of 14 renewable energy execs managed to snag the entire sleeper carriage for their trip to the Australian Clean Energy Summit this week, with organiser Manfred Fahr dubbing it the RE-Express.

Fahr and his co-organiser Allison Hawke, both long-time renewable energy industry executives, launched the train option to make a point about the emissions created by air travel.

“CO2 savings aside, this is a symbolic event for industry leaders to show real commitment and live what they are preaching all year long!” Fahr told RenewEconomy.

Covering a distance of 866km, the 14 travellers cut their emissions footprint in half by taking an 11 hour train over a 1.5 hour flight, he said.

“A quick calculation showed that the CO2 savings over the plane (single trip) are equivalent to me driving my mid range car for 800km.”

Transport makes up about 18 per cent of Australia’s total emissions output. Cars are the worst offender at 47 per cent, followed by trucks and buses at 21 per cent. Domestic aviation comes in at 9 per cent while rail — which carries about half of the country’s freight — makes up just 4 per cent.

The government is attempting to reduce the emissions from cars with its National Electric Vehicle Strategy, which makes certain electric vehicles exempt from the fringe benefit tax. It is also investing in charging infrastructure.

Aviation and long haul emissions will be more difficult, requiring extensive investment in either battery or fuel cell technologies, charging and refuelling infrastructure, and the development of new fuels entirely in the case of aviation.

On Sunday evening, however, on the train to Sydney, the promise was simply for a fun evening, a”splendid onboard service in our almost private carriage”, and arriving well rested at 7am on Monday morning.

The ACES group made a real party of the event, offering the travellers a custom made RE-Express Pioneer lapel pin and a pre-departure dinner at the Mail Exchange Hotel in Melbourne.

“Being gently rocked to sleep is part of the package with sweet dreams until we are woken again with fresh coffee, light breakfast and a refreshing shower, and all while watching the sunrise over forests, farmland and rivers go by until pulling into central Sydney at 7am,” Fahr waxed in a LinkedIn post.

Fahr called the crew of 14 who’d managed to snare one of the coveted beds “pioneers”, although it’s likely only seven of those were the real intrepid travellers — those who had to endure the horrifyingly uncomfortable top bunk.