Work out your intercity rail emissions
= 1.94 tonnes CO2e in 2026 (Scope 3)
Each passenger-mile × 0.09676 kg CO2e, the 2026 GHG Emission Factors Hub figure (Cornerstone) for "Intercity Rail - National Average", CO2, CH4 and N2O combined.
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Intercity rail (Amtrak), national average: emission factor by Hub edition (per passenger-mile)
From Table 10, Scope 3 Category 6 and 7: Business Travel and Employee Commuting, row "Intercity Rail - National Average". The Hub publishes the three gases separately; the kg CO2e column adds them up with the global warming potentials (GWPs) each edition states.
| Edition | kg CO2 | g CH4 | g N2O | GWPs (CH4, N2O) | kg CO2e per passenger-mile | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Cornerstone) | 0.09600 | 0.008000 | 0.002000 | 27, 273 | 0.09676 | +0.01% |
| 2025 (EPA) | 0.09600 | 0.008000 | 0.002000 | 28, 265 | 0.09675 | -15.1% |
| 2024 (EPA) | 0.1130 | 0.009200 | 0.002600 | 28, 265 | 0.1139 | -0.05% |
| 2023 (EPA) | 0.1130 | 0.009200 | 0.002600 | 25, 298 | 0.1140 | – |
The gases changed between editions as the Hub updated its source data, and the GWPs changed too (2023: CH4 25, N2O 298 (IPCC AR4); 2024: CH4 28, N2O 265 (IPCC AR5); 2025: CH4 28, N2O 265 (IPCC AR5); 2026: CH4 27, N2O 273 (IPCC AR6, non-fossil CH4)). Source: US EPA, GHG Emission Factors Hub (2023-2025 editions, public domain) and Emission Factors Hub 2026, Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative, CC BY 4.0.
Worked example
Take staff travelling 20,000 passenger-miles a year. 20,000 passenger-miles × 0.09676 kg CO2e = 1.9 tonnes CO2e, reported as Scope 3, Category 6 (business travel). In metric units the factor is 0.06013 kg CO2e per passenger-km (one mile is exactly 1.609344 km).
How to use it
Multiply the passenger-miles for each trip by the factor for that mode and report the total as Scope 3, Category 6 (business travel). Under the GHG Protocol's Scope 3 Standard, business travel is Category 6 and employee commuting Category 7.
Intercity rail in the Hub means Amtrak long-distance trains between cities. The Hub also gives separate figures for the Northeast Corridor (Boston to Washington DC, mostly electric) and for all other routes; if you know the route, those are more accurate than this national average. The 2026 Hub's footnote says its intercity rail figures come from Amtrak (December 2024, based on 2023 data).
Check the unit. These figures are per passenger-mile, so multiply by the miles each traveller covers, not the miles the vehicle covers. Booking tools outside the US often report kilometres; divide by 1.609344 to get miles before using these figures.
UK companies with sites, staff or shipments in the US can use these figures for that activity, and the UK government factors for activity in the UK (see the UK government factor for the same activity). Say in your methodology which set you used for which activity. In Carbon Recycling, every line keeps the factor and source it was worked out with.
Where to find your passenger-mile figure
Rail tickets or your booking tool's report. Amtrak tickets name the stations, so the route mileage can be looked up.
Who publishes the 2026 figures
The GHG Emission Factors Hub was published by the US EPA's Center for Corporate Climate Leadership every year up to the January 2025 edition, as a US government work in the public domain. The 2026 edition, last updated 26 May 2026, was published by the Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative, not by EPA, under a CC BY 4.0 licence (doi:10.5281/zenodo.20403776). It keeps EPA's table layout and its footnotes cite the same sources, such as 40 CFR Part 98 and EPA's Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks. EPA has not endorsed it.
Related emission factors
- Air travel, long haul (2,300 miles or more): 0.1455 kg CO2e per passenger-mile
- Intercity rail, Northeast Corridor: 0.02305 kg CO2e per passenger-mile
- Air travel, medium haul (300 to 2,300 miles): 0.1215 kg CO2e per passenger-mile
- All US fuel, vehicle, travel and freight factors
- US electricity factors by eGRID subregion
- United States grid electricity average (every year since 2000)
- All emission factors