Comparison of Electric Aircraft and Electric Train : On the Distance Stockholm-Gothenburg

Commercial aviation accounts for 2,4% of the total carbon dioxide emissions. This number is expected to reach 25% in 2050. In contrast to flying, the most energy efficient transportation mode is rail. In Sweden, rail and air are the most competitive on the distance Stockholm-Gothenburg due to similar total travel time. The most popular high-speed train on this distance is X2000. X2000 is electrified, contributing to merely indirect carbon emissions. Considering electricity as an energy source, the corresponding air transportation mode with respect to X2000 would be electric aircraft. This study investigates if electric aircraft could compete with electric trains on the distance Stockholm-Gothenburg in the foreseeable future. The objective was to identify challenges regarding electrification of aircraft using X2000 as a benchmark. These challenges were determined through a comparison between electric aircraft and electric train. In general, the comparison contains an analysis of cost, environmental impact, safety, comfort and time. In particular, the ticket price, carbon dioxide emissions, fatality rate, interior and exterior noise and transportation time were studied. The comparison was performed through a literature study. The results depicted electric aircraft could in the best-case scenario be slightly cheaper than the corresponding high-speed train option. Conversely, electric aircraft have somewhat higher energy consumption than X2000, hence the indirect carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity production are higher. However, these emissions are significantly lower than those from conventional aircraft. Regarding safety, electric aircraft are predicted to be safer than conventional ones, and therefore even safer than trains. Furthermore, electric aircraft contribute to less noise pollution than X2000. Though, the interior noise level is lower in a train car of X2000 than in a cabin of an electric aircraft. Concerning time, electric aircraft would even in the worst-case scenario have the same transportation time as X2000. Therefore, it was concluded that electric aircraft could compete with electric trains for short travel distances such as Stockholm-Gothenburg, in the foreseeable future