Other green initiatives included promoting fuel-efficient vehicles, rail transport, electricity grid improvements, and pollution control.

FORBES: Needed: A Global Green New Deal

Thanks to the efficient turbocharged, common-rail, direct fuel-injection diesel engine, the concept car is still very fuel-efficient.

ENGADGET: VW unveils CrossBlue plug-in SUV with iPad mini headrests and 85MPGe efficiency (eyes-on)

Mr. Srivastava said apart from production issues, there are also significant difficulties in moving coal from mines to power stations due to a shortage of rail wagons for hauling the dry fuel.

WSJ: Coal to Keep Firing India Power Plants

The statement claims that, since 2010, Tashkent has systematically blocked the transit of rail freight into Tajikistan - vital for bringing fuel and food into the landlocked country.

BBC: Tajikistan accuses Uzbekistan of economic blockade

Randal O'Toole, a senior fellow with the CATO Institute, said it is far more cost-effective to save energy by encouraging people to drive more fuel-efficient cars than to build and operate high-speed rail.

CNN: Is the U.S. turning a corner on high-speed rail?

Flexibility, greater connectivity and high fuel prices (which lead to higher airfare) have been cited as reasons for the rise in rail.

BBC: Corporate rail travel on the rise

We could transform America right now, rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our airports and also rebuilding a new infrastructure for the 21st century -- high-speed rail and a new generation of air traffic control that could actually save 15 percent of fuel costs and as a consequence reduce global warming.

WHITEHOUSE: Remarks by the President at a DNC Event in Washington, DC

Mining more coal for shipment to coal-to-liquid processing plants and fuel customers would reverse the slide, potentially welcome news for shareholders of Burlington Northern, Norfolk Southern and other rail companies.

FORBES: Magazine Article