FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION : FREIGHT RAILROADING

Energy

Railroads are fuel efficient, requiring less energy to move each passenger or ton of freight than virtually any other mode, because:

Rigidity of a steel wheel on steel rail results in a low rolling resistance as compared to rubber-tired vehicles;
Relatively flat roadbeds greatly reduce grade resistance (railroad grade changes are minimized, and energy expended to lift a train vertically can be recaptured as the train descends a grade); and
Rail is currently the only transportation mode capable of large scale utilization of electric power for propulsion (power produced from a variety of non-petroleum sources). Electrified rail service daily transports thousands of passengers in the Northeast and Midwest.

Rail has demonstrated significantly lower energy consumption rates than other transportation modes in both passenger and freight service. According to the 1996 National Transportation Statistics report of the Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in 1993, the energy consumed in moving an Amtrak passenger averaged 1,995 British thermal units (Btu) per passenger-mile, about 58 percent of the energy required for the average automobile passenger (3,415 Btu per passenger-mile) and 45 percent of the Btu per-passenger-mile used by the average domestic airline passenger (4,446).

A 1991 study performed for the Federal Railroad Administration analyzed relative freight rail and truck fuel efficiency. The study, A Rail vs. Truck Fuel Efficiency@ , which was designed to compare fuel use for a variety of route/commodity combinations where rail and truck are competitive, found that rail achieved higher ton-miles per gallon than trucks, carrying similar commodities over 32 routes studied. Using computer simulations, the ratio of truck fuel use to rail fuel use ranged from 1.40 to 5.61 for these Class I railroad scenarios. For routes less than 100 miles, comparing regional/local rail and truck service, trucks used from 4.03 to 9.00 times more fuel than rail. As this study notes, it is futile to develop a single number to describe rail energy intensiveness. Specific routes, equipment, and loads must be considered, as well as fuel used in rail terminal operations and for drayage to and from the rail line. However, some rough comparisons have been made. For example, according to the U.S. Department of Energy= s 1995 Transportation Energy Data Book, in 1993 rail moved 39 percent of U.S. freight ton-miles carried by truck, rail, and water yet consumed less than 12 percent of the total energy consumption required for movement of freight by these modes.

Land Use

Transportation facilities of all types require the dedication of substantial acreage, and expansion of facilities to relieve congestion or accommodate increased volumes of freight and passengers can be extremely expensive. For example, in Los Angeles, California, the Century Freeway, a 17.3 mile eight-lane project to add capacity and relieve congestion, cost $2.2 billion ($128 million per mile -- including mitigation costs). In contrast, rail service can often expand within existing rights-of-way without additional land acquisition. Rail is also less land-intensive than highways, airports and related facilities, requiring less space to carry more passengers and freight.

Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting

The prospect of global warming caused by an increase in greenhouse gas emissions has become a major policy issue during the last decade. The transportation sector is currently responsible for approximately 26% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and is expected to be one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the foreseeable future, due to increased demand for motor gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel. Therefore, in May 1999, DOT announced the formation of its Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting. The DOT Center is dedicated to fostering awareness of the potential links between transportation and global climate change, and to formulating policy options to deal with the challenges of these links.

The Center is the focal point in the DOT of technical expertise on transportation and climate change. Through strategic research, policy analysis, partnerships and outreach, the Center creates comprehensive and multi‑modal approaches to reduce transportation‑related greenhouse gases and to mitigate the effects of global climate change on the transportation network. The Center= s research projects include an assessment of the impacts of climate change upon transportation operations and infrastructure, a survey of available transportation greenhouse gas data and models that would aid analysis of new transportation policies or market changes on GHG emissions, and a review of activities being undertaken by states and localities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through transportation planning.

For further information see the Center's website at http://www.dot.gov/climate