Freight trains in the US are often powered by two or more diesel units, each about 4400 horsepower. Those units are each supposed to burn around 210 US gallons per hour when they're producing full power.
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Freight trains in the US are often powered by two or more diesel units, each about 4400 horsepower. Those units are each supposed to burn around 210 US gallons per hour when they're producing full power.
Today's train locomotives are already quite fuel efficient, especially compared to trucks. In fact, trains can haul one ton of goods an average of more than 480 miles on just a single gallon of fuel, making them 3-4 times more fuel efficient than trucks.
Railroads are roughly four times more fuel efficient than trucks. Shipping freight via rail limits greenhouse gas emissions and increases fuel efficiency, reducing the transportation carbon footprint. In fact, moving freight by rail instead of truck lowers greenhouse gas emissions by 75%.
Fuel Tank. This huge tank in the underbelly of the locomotive holds up to 5,500 gallons (20,820 liters) of diesel fuel, plus an additional 300 gallons (1,135 liters) of coolant, and 250 gallons (946 liters) of engine oil.
For a fuel cost of $0.84 per liter of diesel ($3.17 per gallon) (AAR (2012b)), this results in an average running fuel cost of $185 per locomotive-hour. If actual train and operation data are available, energy models or rail simulators may provide more accurate fuel use values for specific conditions.
Trains measure in at 477 ton-miles per gallon of fuel, while for trucks it's only 145 ton-miles per gallon. [2,3] This is primarily because the rolling resistance of steel wheels on rails is less than that of rubber tires on the road. As a result, rail tends to be poorly suited for short trips.
For a fuel cost of $0.84 per liter of diesel ($3.17 per gallon) (AAR (2012b)), this results in an average running fuel cost of $185 per locomotive-hour.
1000 miles between refuellings would not be unreasonable for a road locomotive with a 4000 gallon tank averaging 40 mph on a line with a maximum grade of 1%. However I would want refuel before I am running on the bottom third of the tank, so perhaps 700 miles is more realistic.
These can be as low as 200 revolutions per minute (RPM), in contrast to earlier locomotives which typically idled at 315 RPM. Many of the earlier units have been retrofitted with available low idle speed modifications to reduce idle RPM as much as possible, limiting noise and air emissions.
Elements of the diesel locomotiveThe diesel engine may operate on the two-stroke or four-stroke cycle. Rated operating speeds vary from 350 to 2,000 revolutions per minute, and rated output may be from 10 to 4,000 horsepower.
If price is the deciding factor, the car trip will usually be the cheaper one for anything more than a single passenger or a single passenger with infant child in tow. (Kids under two generally ride the train free.)
While the average car engine has about 200 horsepower, locomotive engines typically range from 2,000 to 4,500 horsepower. Train operators rely on diesel power across the full range of rail power applications.
According to the 2021 U.S. Department of Energy Data Book, Amtrak is 46% more energy efficient than traveling by car and 34% more energy efficient than domestic air travel.