Recently, Matute and Chester (2015) conducted a study to find out the reduction cost per metric ton of greenhouse gases emission by comparing three urban transportation plans with California high-speed rail.
To date, life cycle assessment (LCA) tools have generally been used for knowledge generating studies either as standalone quantification tools or for comparisons of different alternatives. LCA is a systematic evaluation process of resource requirements and environmental impacts of given products from raw material acquisition to final disposal; it includes, for instance, global warming, ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, and human toxicity. The applicability and strengths of LCA in assessing environmental impacts have been proven in transportation engineering. Graedel (1998) defined LCA as “the examination, identification, and evaluation of the relevant environmental implications of a material, process, product or system across its lifespan from creation to waste, or preferably to re-creation in the same or another useful form”. Azapagic and Clift (1999) indicate that LCA tool can be applied for evaluating alternative technology systems and optimization models. Chang and Kendall (2011) introduced a green method in rail-system planning for decision makers with the evaluation of life cycle GHG inventory for running high speed rail in the U.S. Recently, Matute and Chester (2015) conducted a study to find out the reduction cost per metric ton of greenhouse gases emission by comparing three urban transportation plans with California high-speed rail. Celauro et al. (2015) also assessed different road construction techniques on local roads to find out the greatest alternative concerning with environmental sustainability.