Rail travel is almost two-and-a-half times less carbon intensive per mile than using an electric car, new figures from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) have shown.

The body, which represents the rail industry, has been collecting detailed data on trains across the entire sector including engine type, fuel type, journey distance, occupancy and carriage layout.

On average, across the top 100 business travel routes, taking the train for business travel produces nine times less carbon than going by diesel or petrol car, more than four times less carbon than using a plug-in hybrid electric car and almost two-and-a-half times less carbon than using a battery electric car.

Some of the business travel journeys with the lowest carbon emissions per passenger (compared to one person travelling alone by petrol or diesel car) include London King’s Cross to York (15.13 times less carbon), Darlington to London King’s Cross (14.88 times less carbon) and Ebbsfleet International to St Pancras International...