COMPARISONS OF EMISSIONS AND ENERGY USE FOR TRUCK AND RAIL

There has been comparatively little published information on the relative energy-efficiency and emission levels of trucks and railways. What little has appeared in print has tended to look at aggregate figures for the two industries, including types of movement for which there is little intermodal competition such as urban deliveries and unit trains of bulk commodities. This sheds little light on the potential to reduce fuel usage and emissions by shifting traffic between the modes. This paper presents figures for the types of movement where the two modes do compete, based on locomotive engine tests, typical truck fuel consumptions, and emission regulations. A variety of railway technologies and truck configurations are examined, representative of the range of equipment in service. Railway equipment includes several Trailer-on-Flatcar and Container-on- Flatcar configurations, as well as conventional carload equipment to serve as a benchmark. Truck configurations include single and double-48-foot (14.65 m) trailers. The analysis covers a representative route across Canada. Three time periods are examined, representative of the recent past, the present, and the future, to give an indication of trends, since technology and operating methods continue to evolve and affect energy use and emissions for both modes. The conclusions are that the railways can move competitive traffic at a fuel saving typically in the range of 65 to 70 percent compared with trucks, and that this advantage will be largely maintained in the future, even in the face of extreme truck configurations such as turnpike doubles. The railways also generate similar reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. For the other major pollutant from diesel engines, NOx, the railways currently show a saving in the range of 30 to 50 percent per net tonne-kilometre, which would be eroded somewhat but by no means eliminated by turnpike doubles. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD Abstract no. 807788.