2012 Rail Trends - Railway Association of Canada
2012 Rail Trends - Railway Association of Canada
2012 Rail Trends - Railway Association of Canada
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Environment<br />
Fuel and efficiency measures<br />
The rail sector has been faced with the challenge <strong>of</strong> dealing with rising<br />
diesel fuel prices. In 2011, diesel fuel prices hit $4.25 per gallon, a record<br />
high and a 30.8 per cent jump from the previous year. To cope, Canadian<br />
railways have faced pressure to optimize fuel consumption productivity,<br />
and have answered the call. The sector reduced fuel consumption by<br />
3.1 per cent in 2011 compared to 2010, and the graph below illustrates<br />
RTM (RTK) per gallon (litre) <strong>of</strong> fuel consumed grew 10.5 per cent during<br />
the same period and improved 25.5 per cent since 2002. This result<br />
speaks to the industry-wide efforts being made to improve efficiency<br />
while keeping pace with demand.<br />
Because <strong>of</strong> high diesel fuel prices, member railways have strived<br />
to adopt new sustainability measures and implement initiatives that<br />
will cut costs by improving fuel efficiency. These improvements<br />
include scheduling trains based on capacity to minimize congestion,<br />
better matching <strong>of</strong> horsepower to tonnage, enhancing train handling<br />
techniques and standardizing fuel-saving devices on locomotives. The<br />
most effective fuel efficiency initiative continues to be locomotive fleet<br />
renewal, the process in which older, less fuel-efficient locomotives are<br />
replaced by new and improved higher-horsepower locomotives.<br />
650<br />
RTM PER GALLON OF FUEL CONSUMED (000)<br />
<strong>2012</strong><br />
20<br />
550<br />
450<br />
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
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