Airtrain and the Environment

Sustainable travel

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Brisbane's Airtrain

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Environmentally friendly travel to the Airport

You can make a difference

Airtrain is dedicated to providing airport transport that is affordable, efficient and environmentally conscious.

Worldwide, passenger rail is regarded as a leading mode of environmentally ethical transport.

When you travel with Airtrain instead of by car, you are minimising your impact on the environment. Travelling by rail reduces your CO2 output, the risk of road crash incidents and offers major time-saving benefits by avoiding road congestion entirely. Airtrain also offers environmentally responsible extras, like the option of paperless travel, free water refill stations and no extra fees for travelling with your bike.

Impacts of choosing Airtrain over car travel

Reduction of CO2 emissions

Every day that a customer makes the plane by catching Airtrain, they are saving .43kg of CO2. Each train has the capacity to carry over 600 passengers, totalling a saving of 258kg of CO2 on each trip.

Prof Phil Charles of the University of Queensland and Prof Louis Ferreira of QUT conducted research to determine the environmental and safety impacts of Brisbane’s Airtrain operations. This study revealed that over a 5 year period, Airtrain’s passengers created a saving of 23,700 tonnes CO2 emissions.

Airtrain’s operations have expanded to include Gold Coast’s Airtrain and Tram service and the number of Airtrain customers has increased to over 25 million. The overall CO2 emissions saved are likely to be much greater than originally reported by Prof Charles and Ferreira.

Decreased road congestion

Airtrain offers congestion-free transport to and from Brisbane Airport. With limited access points to Brisbane Airport by road, traffic incidents can cause major congestion. Failure to make flight check-in can translate to missed flights and a forfeiture of the airfare. Catching Airtrain to make the plane delivers valuable time-saving benefits.

Additional environmental benefits from travelling with Airtrain

Paperless ticketing

Airtrain rewards our passengers who choose to go paperless with special discounts for booking online. As it stands, Australia uses 40 million trees’ worth of paper a year. In an effort to reduce unnecessary paper waste, Airtrain has incentivised paperless travel. To choose our paper-free ticketing options and enjoy exclusive discounts, simply purchase your ticket online and download your e-ticket to your smartphone.

Water refill stations at Airtrain Stations

Internationally, 1 million plastic bottles are bought every minute. In an effort to curb the consumption of single-use plastic, Airtrain has installed free water refill stations at both Airtrain stations.

No additional fees for bringing your cycle onboard

Airtrain doesn’t charge additional fees for oversized baggage or equipment. This means that you minimise your carbon footprint by riding your bike to/from the train station.

Other ways that you can help

By travelling with Airtrain, you’re already making a positive difference to our environment. Other easy ways you can minimise your impact on the environment when you travel with Airtrain:

Encourage your friends and family to opt for rail over road vehicles
Take any rubbish that you bring onboard with you when you leave for correct recycling, composting or disposal
Walk or ride to your departing train station to reduce your carbon footprint

Airtrain uses Queensland Rail’s fleet of Next Generation trains. To read more about our partner, Queensland Rail’s environmental policies and management procedures, you can check them out here.