Analysis of Railroad Energy Efficiency in the United States

Details

• Creators:
  Tolliver, Denver ; Lu, Pan ; Benson, Douglas
• Corporate Creators:
  Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Freight transportation
  • Pollutants
  • Mathematical models
  • Fuel consumption
  • Fuel conservation
  • Sustainable transportation
  • Railroads
  • Alternatives analysis Research Hub
  • Energy
  • Freight Transportation
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  MPC Report No. 13-250
• Resource Type:
  Research Paper
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States;North Dakota
• Corporate Publisher:
  Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
• Abstract:
  The purpose of this study is to provide information about railroad fuel efficiency that may be useful in evaluating transportation energy policies and assessing the sustainability of potential projects. The specific objectives are to (1) develop railroad energy efficiency models that describe differences in fuel economy among classes of trains and commodities; (2) apply these models to a wide range of movements to estimate fuel efficiency ratings for coal, grain, iron ore, food products, and other key commodities; (3) develop comparable procedures for estimating truck and waterway fuel consumption; and (4) compare rail, truck, and waterway energy efficiencies. The focus on railroads in this study is appropriate, because many of the alternatives to highway investment involve railroad transportation or multimodal options.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/23217/dot_23217_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 699.61 KB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:44ba6e83565d135182b10b00fbb8da371a21f7f79deaca6ff426b1fb6149e625416138b19f61c362109ac8f3b24b4ef6be3ade0662f68f2cdcc1e5252995fe9e