rail freight transportation author: dr. alan erera

Rail Freight Transportation

Author: Dr. Alan Erera

North American Mode Share, 1996

water

air

rail

truck

% of total ton-miles

U.S. Freight Movements, 1996

1990 1995 1996

Total 6,079.30 7,062.00 7,320.70 Air 7.7 8.5 9.8 Water transport 1,014.00 985.4 991.9 Coastal shipping 270.9 241.9 242.6 Great Lakes 99.9 105.3 104.2 Inland waterwaysa 643.2 638.1 645.1

Pipeline 1,416.20 1,551.60 1,611.80 Crude oil and petroleum products 958.9 1,017.00 1,067.80 Natural gas 457.3 534.6 544

Railroad 1,292.60 1,405.80 1,461.40 Truck 2,348.70 3,110.70 3,245.90

(Millions of metric tons)

Railroad Freight Flows

U.S. Freight Railroad Economics

In 1998 ...

• Market share: 40% of intercity tons

• Large share markets:– 70% of finished automobiles– 64% of coal (generating 36% of electricity)– 40% of grain (domestic and export)

U.S. Railroad Economics II

• Movement statistics– Freight volume: 1.38 trillion ton-miles– Carload volume: 26 million carloads

• 8.8 million intermodal trailers and containers

• Fleet statistics– 1.3 million railcars– 127 million ton capacity

• Costs 26% less (57% IA) than 1981

Railroads are capital-intensive

Primary Commodities

• Rail Only– Coal 572 MM tons– Farm Products 158– Non-metallic minerals 131– Petroleum 123– Chemicals 118

• Intermodal– Transportation equipment 6.9 MM tons– Chemicals, food, lumber, pulp & paper

Georgia Rail Freight

Growth in Intermodal

Growth in Intermodal

• 17% of revenues– second only to coal: 23%

• COFC 62%, TOFC 38%• Why?

– Labor efficiency– Fuel efficiency (50% savings over truck)– Door-to-door service

• Downsides– speed, reliability

Container land bridge

• Asia - Europe market• Double-stack N.A. network• Why?

– Hub-and-spoke efficiencies– Panama canal costs, queuing delays

Long Beach Elizabeth

NAFTA freight flows for UP

Freight Railroad Classification

• Class One– Operating revenue > $250 MM (1991$)– 91% of total revenue, 71% of track– CSX, NS, UP, BNSF, Kansas City Southern

• Regionals– Revenue $40-250 MM, more than 350 miles– Wisconsin Central, Bangor & Aroostook, Alaska

• Local/Short Lines

CSX

• Miles: 23,000• Carloads: 5.1 MM• Locos: 4,000• Railcars: 100,000• Revenues: $5.6 B

– coal: $1.6 B– chem: $0.91 B– auto: $0.76 B

Norfolk Southern

• Miles: 21,800• Carloads: 5.1 MM• Locos: 3,500• Railcars: 117,000• Revenues: $5.2 B

– coal: $1.3 B– intermodal: $0.83 B– auto: $0.73 B– chem: $0.73 B

Union Pacific

• Miles: 38,600• Carloads: 8.5 MM• Locos: 6,847• Railcars: 157,000• Revenues: $10.2 B

– coal: $2.2 B– intermodal: $1.7 B– chem: $1.6 B– auto: $1.0 B

BNSF

• Miles: 33,500• Locos: 5,000• Railcars: 90,000• Revenues: $9.1 B

– carload: $2.6 B– intermodal: $2.5 B– coal: $2.2 B– agri: $1.3 B

Kansas City Southern

• Miles: 6,400• NAFTA railroad

– Gateway Western– KCS– TexMex– TFM– Panama Canal RR

Canadian National

• Miles: 16,000• Carloads: 3.5 MM• Locos: 5,000• Railcars: 90,000• Revenues: $5.1 B

– grain: $1.0 B– forest: $0.97 B– chem: $0.84 B– intermodal: $0.80 B

Locomotive Equipment

• They are mobile power plants– Diesel generators– DC and AC traction motors

• Road vs. switching

• Multiple units– consist– DPUs and helpers for heavy trains, grades

Pre-diesel UP locomotives

UP Road Locomotive

• AC traction (6000 HP)

CSX Roads in Two-engine consist

Yard switcher

• Often “retired” road locomotives• Low HP (1500)

Boxcars

• Weather-protection • Insulation, refrigeration, cushioning• Auto parts, building materials, food products, bagged

products

Automobile Racks (autoracks)

• Bi-level or tri-level • Damage/vandalism protection• Finished autos, trucks, vans, minivans

Load/unload operations: autoracks

• a type of “roll-on, roll-off” system

Open hoppers

• Hopper openings or rotary couplers • Coal, coke, stone, sand, ores, gravel

Load operations: coal

• conveyors

Unload operations: coal

Covered hoppers

• load: round or trough hatch• unload: hoppers (gravity, airslide) • grains, corn, soybeans, flour, salt, sugar, clay, phosphates, cement,

fertilizers, plastics

Tank cars

• Private (non-railroad) fleets

• Chemicals, molasses, water, diesel fuel

Gondolas

• Open or covered

• Scrap metal, aggregates, woodchips, logs, poles, steel beams, steel coils

Load/unload: Lumber on flatcars

TOFC

• Trailer-on-flatcar• Highway trailers

– LTL trucking growth in intermodal

TOFC train

COFC

• Container-on-flatcar• ocean shipping containers, trucking containers

Double-stack COFC (1979)

• Articulated cars• Clearances

– bridge/tunnel investments

Load/unload: Double-stack COFC

Intermodal flatcar types

• Two-hitch flatcar– two trailers, each up to 40 ft length

• Articulated well flatcar– containers sit low for double-stacking– articulation: no conflict with rail wheels (trucks)– 3 to 5 permanently joined units

• Roadrailer– truck trailers mounted on railroad wheel assemblies

EOT Device

• End-of-train device

• Caboose replacement– warns following trains

• Crew size reduction– brakemen, fireman gone– 2-4 person crews– labor cost reduction

Rail shipping

• Shipment types– Unit train (bulk commodities)– Carload (FCL)– Less-than-carload (LCL)

• Train types– Unit train (through service)– Hot shot (intermodal; expedited service)– Bulk train (single bulk commodity)– Manifest (mixed freight)

Unit train routing

• Direct, through trains– From shipper to consignee

• Coal train example– Powder River Basin, WY to

Dallas area power plant

• Petrochemical example– Elizabeth, NJ refinery to

Houston processing plant– Interline

Intermodal train routing

• Expedited service– But, set-outs or pick-ups at consolidation points

• Load/unload intermodal yards– Portside (e.g. Long Beach)– Port adjacent (e.g. Oakland)– Inland

• Enroute yards– “hubs”– cross-towns (rubber tire transfers)

Manifest (mixed freight) train routing

• Load/unload facilities– Shipper sidings, public facilities (e.g. grain

elevators)– Switching service to terminal railyard

• Hump yards– Classification

• sorting by destination– Receiving, bowl, departing– Hub-and-spoke concept

North Platte Hump Yard (UP)

US Deregulation: Staggers (1980)

• Market-driven pricing– only for route/services with competition

• Confidential service agreements, rates• Abandonment and sale streamlined• Impact

– Costs down: 57% from 1981 to 1998– Return on net investment: from 2 to 7%– Consolidation– Regionals and shortlines: 50,000 miles

Post-deregulation performance

Railroad misconceptions

• Not technologically advanced …– $247 billion investment since 1980– Advanced signaling, communication, control

• Rolling stock outdated …– 7,500 new locomotives since 1990 (37.5%)– Freight cars lighter, stronger, more reliable

BN Operating center

Freight railroads: no subsidies!

• Track privately-owned and operated– construction and maintenance

• Amtrak– pays “usage fees” to freight railroads

• Trucking uses public infrastructure– C&M funding via $0.55/gallon fuel tax but …– Estimate: covers only 2/3 of costs