The formula for our 2018 fuel economy rating is as follows: (Source: CSX R-1 Report 2018)
- Lines 1+3 (Line 4) of Schedule 750, Diesel Fuel Consumption (Freight + Switching) = 423,998,863 gallons
- Revenue Ton-Miles = 208,712,027,000 RTM, Schedule 755, Line 110
- RTM per gallon = 492 RTM/gal (208,712,027,000 RTM / 423,998,863 gals)
Over the previous decade, CSX has spent more than $2.8 billion on improving locomotive fuel efficiency and lowering pollution.
The ton-mile-per-gallon is a unit of measurement used to compare the effectiveness of various types of transportation while moving freight.
The rail business keeps track of revenue ton-miles and reports them “Surface Transportation Board Annual Report (commonly referred to as the R1 Report). ‘The’ “The annual value of Ton-Miles of Freight is recorded in Schedule 755, line 110 of the R1 Report. In the R1 Report, Schedule 750, line 4, the rail sector also tracks and reports annual fuel usage. The system-wide train efficiency value is calculated using these two stated values.
For example, CSX recorded 208,712,027,000 ton-miles of freight in the R1 Report in 2018, and the combined line haul and switcher reported fuel usage was 423,998,863 gallons.
The system-wide train efficiency metric for CSX in 2018 is:
In other words, based on our 2018 revenue ton miles and fuel use, CSX trains can move a ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a gallon of fuel.
A freight truck’s fuel economy can be calculated in a similar method. For example, assuming an average 7 miles per gallon truck fuel efficiency and a typical truck payload of 19 tons, a heavy-duty diesel truck moving 19 tons of freight over 500 miles would burn approximately 71 gallons of diesel fuel. This freight haul’s efficiency would be computed as follows:
This efficiency could be described as follows: “On a gallon of gas, a truck can transport a ton of freight 134 miles.
Similarly, a normal train might transport 3,000 tons of freight for 500 miles while using 3,049 gallons of diesel fuel. This freight haul’s efficiency would be computed as follows:
This efficiency could be described as follows: “On a gallon of fuel, a train can transport a ton of freight 492 miles.
As illustrated by the ratio of 492 train ton-miles per gallon split by 134 truck ton-miles per gallon in this example, the train is nearly 3.7 times more efficient at moving freight.
How much electricity does it need to run a train?
Trains are currently one of the world’s most essential modes of transportation. Others are cargo trains, while others are high-speed passenger trains. Electrical trains are the most well-known and widely used. It can run on coal, gas, oil, hydropower, nuclear power, or any other source of electric energy. This type of train is particularly beneficial since it can use a variety of natural resources to generate electricity. Another benefit of the electric train is that it is extremely silent and produces no smoke or pollution.
A locomotive is a steam engine mounted on wheels that is used in some trains. This locomotive is the engine that propels the train forward. Others, on the other hand, have an electric traction motor in their propulsion system that performs the same function as a locomotive. In the early 1800s, Scottish inventor Robert Davidson created the first full-scale electric locomotive.
Watts are a SI (International System) unit used to quantify the power provided by a locomotive or traction engine to a train. It was given the name Watts in honor of James Watt, a pioneer of the steam engine. Another number for measuring power is horsepower (hp), which is commonly used to describe the output of electric motors and internal combustion engines. One horsepower equals 746 watts when converted between the two. As a result, multiply by 746 to convert horsepower to watts, and divide by 746 to convert watts to horsepower. The power ranges between 5000 and 7000 horsepower in most trains.
What kind of engine does a train have?
Trains have used numerous forms of fuel from the commencement of rail transportation in the early nineteenth century. Initially, both coal and wood were used to power locomotives, but in the twentieth century, electric and diesel power became more popular.
What kind of fuel do trains use? Trains run on diesel, electricity, and steam power. Steam was used in the early days of the railroad, as it was in many other businesses. Electric and diesel-electric power technology advanced and became popular in the early twentieth century, and they are still the major way of powering trains today.
Is it true that trains are more efficient than automobiles?
Rail has a lower energy footprint than trucks and passenger automobiles, according to data. Rail transportation has a lower resistance to motion than road transportation because it uses strong steel wheels on steel rail. Also contributing to its improved energy and environmental performance is the convoy formation of individual rail cars into trains.
Ton-miles for freight and passenger-miles for passengers are standard measures of transportation capacity, indicating that a ton of freight is transported for one mile and a passenger is moved for one mile for passenger systems.
Freight rail transports nearly a third of the ton-miles in the United States while using just around 2% of the energy used in transportation. The increased efficiency can be demonstrated in the following way: On average, freight trains can transport a ton of cargo for 479 miles per gallon of fuel (PDF), making them 11 times more energy-efficient than trucks.
At present occupancy levels, passenger rail is around three times more efficient than an automobile in terms of passenger miles. As a result of the lower energy usage, there are fewer greenhouse gas emissions.