Energy intensity, GHG and pollutant emissions of freight and passenger rail applications in the United States

IF 3.1 3区工程技术 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

International Journal of Sustainable Transportation Pub Date : 2025-04-03 DOI:10.1080/15568318.2025.2467665

Choudhury Siddique , Yan Zhou , Amgad Elgowainy , Md Rakibul Alam , Melissa Shurland

{"title":"Energy intensity, GHG and pollutant emissions of freight and passenger rail applications in the United States","authors":"Choudhury Siddique , Yan Zhou , Amgad Elgowainy , Md Rakibul Alam , Melissa Shurland","doi":"10.1080/15568318.2025.2467665","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This research establishes a baseline for the energy intensity and emissions of freight and passenger rail applications, focusing on diesel locomotives. We quantified the diesel energy intensity for freight rail (in Btu/revenue ton-mile), and both diesel and electric energy intensity for passenger rail (in Btu/passenger-mile) using publicly available data. Emissions of HC, CO, NO<sub>X</sub>, and PM emissions from diesel locomotives were analyzed based on real world emissions testing of in-use locomotives and compared to EPA standards. Additionally, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from freight and passenger rails were compared to those from other transportation modes, including heavy-duty trucks, transit buses, and freight and passenger aircrafts, using a well-to-wheels (WTW) approach. Results show that freight rail powered by diesel engines produces lower WTW emissions when compared to competing freight transportation modes such as trucks and aviation. In contrast, passenger rail exhibits higher overall WTW emissions compared to other passenger transportation modes (e.g. cars, transit buses, aviation), and greater variability primarily due to the fluctuations in passenger load factors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47824,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Sustainable Transportation","volume":"19 4","pages":"Pages 297-307"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Sustainable Transportation","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/org/science/article/pii/S1556831825000140","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This research establishes a baseline for the energy intensity and emissions of freight and passenger rail applications, focusing on diesel locomotives. We quantified the diesel energy intensity for freight rail (in Btu/revenue ton-mile), and both diesel and electric energy intensity for passenger rail (in Btu/passenger-mile) using publicly available data. Emissions of HC, CO, NO_X, and PM emissions from diesel locomotives were analyzed based on real world emissions testing of in-use locomotives and compared to EPA standards. Additionally, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from freight and passenger rails were compared to those from other transportation modes, including heavy-duty trucks, transit buses, and freight and passenger aircrafts, using a well-to-wheels (WTW) approach. Results show that freight rail powered by diesel engines produces lower WTW emissions when compared to competing freight transportation modes such as trucks and aviation. In contrast, passenger rail exhibits higher overall WTW emissions compared to other passenger transportation modes (e.g. cars, transit buses, aviation), and greater variability primarily due to the fluctuations in passenger load factors.

查看原文本刊更多论文

美国货运和客运铁路应用的能源强度、温室气体和污染物排放

本研究建立了货运和客运铁路应用的能源强度和排放基线，重点是柴油机车。我们使用公开数据量化了货运铁路的柴油能源强度（单位为Btu/收入吨英里），客运铁路的柴油和电力能源强度（单位为Btu/乘客英里）。根据实际使用中机车的排放测试，并与EPA标准进行比较，分析了柴油机车的HC、CO、NOX和PM排放。此外，采用井到轮（WTW）方法，将货运和客运轨道的温室气体（GHG）排放量与其他运输方式（包括重型卡车、公共汽车、货运和客运飞机）的排放量进行了比较。结果表明，与卡车和航空等竞争货运方式相比，柴油发动机驱动的货运铁路产生的WTW排放量更低。相比之下，与其他客运方式（如汽车、公共汽车、航空）相比，客运铁路显示出更高的总WTW排放量，并且主要由于载客量因素的波动而产生更大的变异性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

International Journal of Sustainable Transportation Multiple-

CiteScore

8.90

自引率

2.60%

发文量

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Sustainable Transportation provides a discussion forum for the exchange of new and innovative ideas on sustainable transportation research in the context of environmental, economical, social, and engineering aspects, as well as current and future interactions of transportation systems and other urban subsystems. The scope includes the examination of overall sustainability of any transportation system, including its infrastructure, vehicle, operation, and maintenance; the integration of social science disciplines, engineering, and information technology with transportation; the understanding of the comparative aspects of different transportation systems from a global perspective; qualitative and quantitative transportation studies; and case studies, surveys, and expository papers in an international or local context. Equal emphasis is placed on the problems of sustainable transportation that are associated with passenger and freight transportation modes in both industrialized and non-industrialized areas. All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial evaluation by the Editors and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous expert reviewers. All peer review is single-blind. Submissions are made online via ScholarOne Manuscripts.