Trains are efficient
Courtesy Sean Lamb When it comes to moving tons of freight, freight trains are very efficient (barges or ships might be even better). Someone asked FactCheck.org
"Can a freight train really move a ton of freight 436 miles on a gallon of fuel?" (click link to read)
The facts
Seven major railroad companies reported the following for 2007:
- 1,770,545,245,000 ton-miles of freight were moved
- 4,062,025,082 gallons of diesel fuel were consumed
- That works out to be almost 436 ton-miles per gallon (435.88)
Trains today 85% more efficient than in 1980
The Association of American Railroads is boasting an 85.5 percent improvement in fuel efficiency for their trains since 1980.
“In fact, if just 10 percent of the freight currently moving by truck went instead by rail, the nation could save one billion gallons of fuel per year."
This information probably sounds like an advertisement for the railroad industry. I did use the Association of American Railroads website as a source.
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