Comparison of Passenger Rail Energy Consumption with Competing Modes (2015) / Chapter Skim
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1S U M M A R Y The primary objective of NCRRP Project 02-01 was to provide like-for-like comparisons of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of commuter and intercity passenger rail operations and competing travel modes.
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2 Comparison of Passenger Rail Energy Consumption with Competing Modes Additional factors complicating the analysis of passenger rail energy efficiency and limiting the utility of gross average statistics include: • use of electrified and diesel-electric operations, sometimes on the same train trip; • seasonal and daily variations in ridership load factors; • consideration of energy consumed by on-board passenger services and amenities or meal and lounge cars; • increasing operating speed on emerging higher-speed rail corridors; and • the inherent multi-modal nature of door-to-door passenger rail trips. The most recent examination of passenger rail energy efficiency that parallels this research dates to the work of Mittal (1977)
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Summary 3 • modal comparison, used to benchmark the energy intensity and GHG emissions intensity of a complete door-to-door passenger rail trip against light-duty vehicle (LDV) , bus and air travel modes.
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4 Comparison of Passenger Rail Energy Consumption with Competing Modes The commuter rail services, with the lowest average load factor, exhibited the highest energy intensity. A combination of high load factor, stop spacing and train length made several of the regional intercity passenger services the most efficient passenger rail operations.
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Summary 5 • Under ideal conditions, regenerative braking and on-board storage can reduce energy consumption by 8% to 14%, as shown for the simulated case study services. • The simulated systems are largely insensitive to head-end "hotel" electric power configuration, aerodynamic improvements, and changes in unplanned stops and speed reductions.
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6 Comparison of Passenger Rail Energy Consumption with Competing Modes 3. Create a department and executive position responsible for coordinating investments in energy efficiency improvements to ensure that all of the possible company/agency-wide benefits and costs are considered during financial and economic evaluations.
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Summary 7 The commuter rail stations used in the case studies were spaced at close enough intervals that the length of auto access and egress trip legs had little effect on the comparison between rail mode and auto mode. This was true even when the commuter drove the "wrong" direction to access and egress commuter rail, effectively lengthening the rail trip and shortening the competing auto trip.
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8 Comparison of Passenger Rail Energy Consumption with Competing Modes efficiency of regional intercity rail. In either case, however, the difference in energy and GHG emissions is unlikely to change the relative modal comparison to auto and air.
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Summary 9 the environmental benefits of rail are used as one justification for investment in commuter and regional intercity passenger rail service (along with urban rail transit)
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