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Fuel Efficiency Improvement in Rail Freight Transportation.

PB250673

Publication Date	1975
Personal Author	Cetinich, J. N.
Page Count	92
Abstract	Railroad diesel fuel conservation is becoming increasingly cost-effective. The price of diesel fuel has increased almost two and one-half times since the October 1973 Embargo. The estimated value of diesel fuel, if in short supply, is over 1 dollar a gallon. A comparison of the fuel performance of 10 selected railroads, before and after the Embargo, showed improvement in net-ton-miles hauled per gallon of diesel fuel. However, some roads used fuel less efficiently from an operating standpoint, as measured in gross-ton-miles per gallon. The most promising immediate avenue for conserving diesel fuel is designing train operating policies specifically to conserve fuel while continuing to provide desired schedule performance. Reducing horsepower-per-ton assignment to trains is a preferable strategy to that of reducing maximum allowable train operating speeds. The key to successful implementation is the appropriate short term regulation of the locomotive fleet. The basic diesel locomotive now used was designed during an era of plentiful fuel supply at a relatively low price. Many features can be improved to provide greater fuel efficiency. Corporate strategies need re-examination in the light of the high cost and uncertain supply of diesel fuel. The control of fuel must be improved and contingencies for a fuel shortage should be planned.
Keywords	Rail transportation Fuel economy Diesel locomotives Energy conservation Cargo transportation Fuel consumption Diesel fuels Energy models Fuel management
Source Agency	Federal Railroad Administration Transportation Systems Center
NTIS Subject Category	97K - Fuels 97B - Energy Use, Supply, & Demand
Corporate Authors	Emerson Consultants, Inc., New York.; Transportation systems Center, Cambridge, Mass.; Federal Railroad Administration, Washington, D.C. Office of Research and
Document Type	Technical Report
Title Note	Final rept. Jun-Dec 75.
NTIS Issue Number	197611
Contract Number	DOT-TSC-1105

Fuel Efficiency Improvement in Rail Freight Transportation.

Fuel Efficiency Improvement in Rail Freight Transportation.
PB250673

Publication Date	1975
Personal Author	Cetinich, J. N.
Page Count	92
Abstract	Railroad diesel fuel conservation is becoming increasingly cost-effective. The price of diesel fuel has increased almost two and one-half times since the October 1973 Embargo. The estimated value of diesel fuel, if in short supply, is over 1 dollar a gallon. A comparison of the fuel performance of 10 selected railroads, before and after the Embargo, showed improvement in net-ton-miles hauled per gallon of diesel fuel. However, some roads used fuel less efficiently from an operating standpoint, as measured in gross-ton-miles per gallon. The most promising immediate avenue for conserving diesel fuel is designing train operating policies specifically to conserve fuel while continuing to provide desired schedule performance. Reducing horsepower-per-ton assignment to trains is a preferable strategy to that of reducing maximum allowable train operating speeds. The key to successful implementation is the appropriate short term regulation of the locomotive fleet. The basic diesel locomotive now used was designed during an era of plentiful fuel supply at a relatively low price. Many features can be improved to provide greater fuel efficiency. Corporate strategies need re-examination in the light of the high cost and uncertain supply of diesel fuel. The control of fuel must be improved and contingencies for a fuel shortage should be planned.
Keywords	Rail transportation Fuel economy Diesel locomotives Energy conservation Cargo transportation Fuel consumption Diesel fuels Energy models Fuel management
Source Agency	Federal Railroad Administration Transportation Systems Center
NTIS Subject Category	97K - Fuels 97B - Energy Use, Supply, & Demand
Corporate Authors	Emerson Consultants, Inc., New York.; Transportation systems Center, Cambridge, Mass.; Federal Railroad Administration, Washington, D.C. Office of Research and
Document Type	Technical Report
Title Note	Final rept. Jun-Dec 75.
NTIS Issue Number	197611
Contract Number	DOT-TSC-1105