1 / 57

CE 533 Introduction to Rail Transportation (2)

CE 533 Introduction to Rail Transportation (2). Railroads are America’s First Large Corporations Had a Monopoly on Transportation Heavily Regulated until 1970s/1980s U.S. Railroads Privately Owned U.S. Railroads are Primarily Freight

min
Download Presentation

CE 533 Introduction to Rail Transportation (2)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. CE 533 Introduction to Rail Transportation (2) Railroads are America’s First Large Corporations Had a Monopoly on Transportation Heavily Regulated until 1970s/1980s U.S. Railroads Privately Owned U.S. Railroads are Primarily Freight U.S. Rail Passenger Service is Heavily Subsidized by the Public

  2. Introduction • Adequate Transportation System • Efficient Movement of Goods and People • Provides No Basic Intrinsic Value • Provides “Value Added” • Necessary for Economy and Development

  3. Early Modes of Transportation in the U.S. • Waterways • Crude Roads • Rivers/Canals 1700’s • Railroads 1830 • Better Roads Trucks/Automobiles early 1920’s • Air – Passengers 1950s • Interstates Trucks/Automobiles early 1960s • Railroads 2000s!!!

  4. Current Modes of Transportation in the U.S. • Waterways • Highway Trucks • Airways • Conveyor Belts • Pipeline • Railways

  5. Why is railroad freight transport so important now,and even more so in the future? • Lets consider the alternatives for inland transport: truck,water,air, pipeline,conveyor belt

  6. Waterways Pros and Cons • Pros: Energy efficiency, low cost, low pollution, safety, capacity • Cons: Speed, limited network

  7. Highway Truck Pros and Cons • Pros: Speed, reliability, network coverage • Cons: Energy efficiency, safety, land use, pollution, cost, congestion (because of shared use of infrastructure truck transport affects auto safety and congestion as well) How many truckloads can a railcar carry?

  8. Airways Pros and Cons • Pros: Speed, reliability, network coverage • Cons: Energy efficiency, cost, limited volume

  9. Pipelines and Conveyor Belts • Pros: High volume, continuous transport possible, no vehicles needed, low labor requirements • Cons: Highly constrained types of commodities, limited product flexibility, speed and network

  10. Rail uniquely combines speed and energy efficiency *Plus environmentally Friendly

  11. Rail is the principal means of economicallymoving large, heavy freight long distances overland Freight

  12. North American freight transportationvolume by mode 1 6 0 0 1 4 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 Billions of Ton-Miles 8 0 0 6 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 Rail Truck Pipeline Waterways Air R a i l T r u c k P i p e l i n e W a t e r w a y s A i r Source: AAR from Eno Foundation for Transportation

  13. Common Goals & Functions of the Railroad Industry • The movement of Freight and People in the most efficient manner possible • Principal Function in U.S. • Hauling Freight (~43+%) • Characteristics • Fast • Reliable • Convenient • Economical • Safe/Secure • Fuel Efficient • Environmentally Friendly • Renewed Interest in Passenger Rail

  14. Early Regulations • Land Grants (1850-1870) • Business Transactions • Development of Central and Western U.S. • Repaid • Interstate Commerce Commission (1887) • Surface Transportation Board (1995-1996)

  15. Recent Significant Legislation • Phase 1: • 1971 Amtrak • 1983 RRB / Depreciation • Phase 2: • 1973 3R Act • 1976 4R Act • 1980 Staggers (Deregulation) • Phase 3: • 1992 ISTEA • 1998 T21 • 2004 SAFETEA-LU • 2008 Safety Improvements • 2010 Surface Transportation Assistance Act

  16. The Fundamental Principle of Rail Transport - EFFICIENCYImplications for Economics,Energy & EnvironmentorWhy Rail Transport is More Important Than Ever!

  17. US 20th Century was about CONVENIENCEThe 21st must considerEFFICIENCY as well • Then • Abundant: energy, land, natural resources and labor • Now • Diminishing resources: • Energy • Air quality • Water • Land • Congestion • Need more efficient use of transportation infrastructure • Stronger global competition

  18. RESISTANCE (lbs./ton) SPEED (mph) Speed and Resistance by Transport Mode Rail uniquely combinesHigh Speed and Low Resistance Boat Airplanes Trucks

  19. Lower coefficient of rolling friction (μR) • Steel wheel on steel rail has lower rolling friction (μR) than rubber tire on pavement: • Steel wheel on rail: μR = 0.001 • Truck tire on pavement: μR = 0.006 to 0.010 • Tire is 6 to 10 times greater than steel wheel • Consequently lower rolling resistance • But why…? • Rubber tire • Small effects of static friction and adhesion of the rubber • Major factor is the deformation of the tire while rolling under load • Pavement deflection also contributes • Steel wheel and rail experience elastic deformation under load as well, but much less

  20. Energy efficiency truck vs. rail • How far can each mode transport a given amount of freight for a given amount of energy? • Specifically, how far can we transport one tonof freight with one gallon of diesel fuel? Rail is over 3 timesmore efficient than truck (AAR & FRA data)

  21. Automotive Energy Efficiency Assume: • 200 lb person • Drives 100 miles • Auto gets 25 mpg Rail=480 ton-miles/gallon Truck=120 ton-miles/gallon

  22. Railroad transportation efficiency • Railroads produce “output” more efficiently than their principal competition: trucks • What is transportation “output” • Ton miles • Passenger miles • Why are railroads so efficient? • Low rolling friction • Large size • Trains

  23. Larger Size of rail vehicles permitseconomies of scale • Strong railroad infrastructure allows larger, heavier vehicles than is practical for highways • Permits economies of scale • Larger vehicles can transport more weight with less resistance per unit • Larger engines can convert energy to work more efficiently

  24. “Trains” permit two more importanteconomies of scale • The ability to operate many vehicles coupled together permits two substantial economies of scale • Labor: one or two people can operate a single train with 100 to 150 cars (or more). Considering that each railcar is roughly equivalent to three trucks, the economies are substantial. • Energy: close spacing of cars in train substantially reduces aerodynamic resistance compared to trucks. This effect is particularly important at higher speeds (> 40mph)

  25. One “E” leads to three • Rail efficiency leads to three fundamental elements of railroad importance to society • All are important now but there is a chronology to our understanding of these • Economics: rail transport was and is less expensive than its competition, therefore critical to a competitive economy • Energy: efficient use of fuel was always part of rail’s economic efficiency, but energy scarcity enhances this aspect • Environment: fewer emissions and land use required per unit of transportation output means rail is part of the quest for sustainability

  26. Rail Transport is Economical • This was the original motivation for development of railroads • Before rail there was no practical way to move heavy goods long distances overland unless there was a navigable river or a canal was built • Low cost transport CREATES markets for both goods and people • Permits development of large, complex, economies with diverse products and skills

  27. Rail Transport is Energy Efficient Normalized Comparison by Transport Mode Transportation Energy Useby Mode 2002 Federal Highway Administration http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/aqfactbk/page13.htm#alt2 http://www.shipsandboxes.com/eng/keytopics/environment/

  28. Projected energy consumption by sector • Transportation is the second largest consumer of energy • Largest consumer of petroleum

  29. Rail transport is more environmentally sustainable Carbon Emissions by Sector 2002 • Transportation is responsible for a substantial portion of air pollution • Greater energy efficiency of rail corresponds with reduced emissions of noxious pollutants and CO2 • Growing concern about the importance of greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution in general, means that rail’s importance as a less polluting form of transport will increase • Substantial R&D on locomotive technology over the past 20 years has substantially reduced locomotive emissions • Technology for electric motive power is mature and used widely elsewhere in the world. Presently not economic in US but if petroleum scarcity or environmental concerns require it, the transition is possible without substantial new technology development Railroad Electrifications Proposals in the 1970s

  30. Rail transport requires less land per unit of transport • Transportation output per unit of land is considerably greater for rail compared to highway • More units per vehicle (tons or people) • Fewer vehicles, and they are consolidated into trains • Easier to accommodate temporal differences in directional traffic

  31. Rail transport benefits due to these efficiencies:but exploiting them imposes constraints as well • Infrastructure design - Heavy loads and high speeds demands particularly robust infrastructure system design and components • Vehicle design - Large, heavy vehicles capable of supporting their own weight plus lading, and also very large in-train “buff” & “draft” forces • Infrastructure and equipment cost - Large size and strength of infrastructure makes it expensive and capital intensive • Trains - Require standardization of many aspects of design, this combined with their high cost means there is a need for long life, thereby imposing reverse compatibility constraints on new technology • Traffic control system - High speeds and mass of trains, combined with low coefficient of friction at wheel/rail interface means stopping distances are very long, often longer than sight distance • Small markets - Ironically, in some important aspects railroads suffer because they cannot exploit economies of scale, e.g. long life and small market for locomotives means it is hard to justify investment in new tooling as technology advances

  32. Benefits to the Environment

  33. 1 Train = 1 ton of freight carried 435 miles on 1 gallon of diesel fuel (86% improvement since 1980) • 1 Train = 280 truckloads • 1 Train = 3 to 4 times more fuel efficient than trucks

  34. Rail vs. Truck • During the last four years, there has been a fundamental shift in the competitive environment between rail and truck • Shift primarily due to: • Increased fuel costs • Congestion on highway system • Reduced hours of service for truck drivers • Driver shortages • Shift appears to be permanent

  35. Revenue Effect of 1% Shift in Truck Industry Trucking $623 billion industry Railroads $48 billion industry 1% shift of trucking's revenue to rail Top-line growth of 13% for railroads ($6.2 billion) -1% $623b 1% shift in trucking revenue market share to rail. +13 % $48b Trucking Rail Data Source: AAR, ATA

  36. Increased Public Interest in Rail • Increased awareness of rail as a solution to congestion, pollution, and fuel inefficiency • Increased motivation to invest public money in rail infrastructure • Heartland • CREATE • Green Power (Locomotives) • I81

  37. Genset and Hybrid Switchers

  38. In the last 20 years… • Vehicle travel increased 78% • Road miles increased only 1% Traffic congestion costs the U.S. $67 billion annually

  39. Congested Highway Segments - 1998

  40. Potential Congested Segments - 2020

More Related