BTS | Table 4-25M: Energy Intensity of Class I Railroad (a) Freight Service

Table 4-25M: Energy Intensity of Class I Railroad^a Freight Service

	1960	1965	1970	1975	1980	1985	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Revenue freight tonne-kilometers (millions)	835,555	1,018,882	1,116,600	1,101,187	1,341,653	1,280,372	1,509,566	1,516,728	1,557,470	1,619,560	1,752,990	1,906,268	1,979,686	1,969,394	2,010,092	2,092,813	2,140,261	2,183,347	2,200,194	2,265,056	2,427,347	2,730,131	2,586,920
Car-kilometers (millions)	45,335	47,212	48,103	44,508	47,117	40,105	42,099	41,244	42,049	43,264	45,842	48,897	51,040	50,952	52,556	54,478	55,667	55,109	55,812	57,220	59,660	60,692	62,692
Tonnes per car load	44.4	48.9	54.9	60.8	67.1	67.7	66.6	66.2	66.0	64.4	63.4	65.3	66.6	63.4	64.1	63.4	62.6	64.0	63.3	62.3	61.3	61.0	60.9
Fuel consumed (million liters)	13,109	13,597	13,419	13,843	14,778	11,773	11,792	11,000	11,375	11,689	12,621	13,173	13,548	13,533	13,563	14,063	14,006	14,044	14,120	14,483	15,365	15,513	15,868
Energy intensity (kilojoule / revenue freight tonne-kilometer)	606	516	465	486	426	355	302	280	282	279	278	267	265	266	261	260	253	249	248	247	245	242	237
Energy intensity (kilojoule / car-kilometer)	11,178	11,134	10,784	12,024	12,125	11,348	10,828	10,311	10,458	10,445	10,643	10,415	10,261	10,268	9,976	9,979	9,726	9,852	9,780	9,785	9,956	9,881	9,784

^aClass I railroads are those that have operating revenues of $289.4 million or more in 2004.

NOTES

The heat equivalent factor used for joule conversion is 38,655.900 joules/liter.

1.459972 tonne-kilometer = 1 ton-mile.

1.609344 kilometers = 1 mile.

0.9071847 tonnes = 1 ton.

3.785412 liters = 1 gallon.

SOURCE

Association of American Railroads, Railroad Facts 2007 (Washington, DC: 2007), pp. 34, 37, and 40, and similar tables in earlier editions.