Published on July 2nd, 2008
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In a day of fascinating and ingenious environmentally friendly ideas (see my post at Sustainablog on the Utah 4-day work week), a Taiwanese inventor, Peng Yu-lun, has devised a new method of rail transport that could very well increase efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
Designed to never stop running – something you would almost imagine to be a vital necessity on a train – Peng’s talent for invention has awarded him a bronze medal at the Nuremburg International Inventors Exhibition in Germany, as well as a silver medal at the Taipei International Inventors Exhibition; so he can’t be too far off the track (sorry), can he?
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Published on July 2nd, 2008
Most railroads have shown a reluctance to use a biodiesel blend in their locomotives, but the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad has decided to test the concept this summer.
The first biodiesel blend train pulled out of Creston last week, hauling 52 cars of wheat and 500 gallons of biodiesel in the locomotives saddlebag tanks. Officials are using a 25 percent blend of biodiesel in the tests.
The fuel is made by Columbia Bioenergy, located in Creston, which uses canola oil, restaurant grease, soy and other crops as feedstock. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on June 19th, 2008
In order to cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in the delivery of new automobiles, Honda has launched a 400-car fleet of new Auto-Max railcars to carry its products from factory to city. Currently, Honda transports 82 percent of its Honda and Acura cars by rail, more than another other automaker.
The new, multi-level rail cars hold up to 22 vehicles, both cars and trucks, to reduce unused space. Honda says conventional rail cars hold only 10 trucks.
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Published on May 22nd, 2008
“One train can carry the load of more than 280 trucks.”
If you live near a railroad, you see them every day, flat cars with semi-trailers secured to the deck, or shipping containers stacked two-high. They’re moving freight that isn’t clogging our highways and polluting the air with excess hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide and particulates produced by over-the road trucks.
So says the CSX Railroad, a major carrier of goods in the mid-Atlantic shipping corridor, now positioning itself for $700 million in system improvements. The program is called National Gateway, a project the railroad says will create a more efficient flow of rail traffic between Mid-Atlantic ports and Midwestern markets. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:
annual greenhouse gas emissions,
Biodiesel,
Biofuels,
csx railroad,
double-stack freight,
Environment,
environmental impact of long-haul truck shipping,
environmental impact of rail,
greenhouse gas emissions,
intermodal shipping,
long-haul trucks,
National Gateway,
Rail,
railroad,
railroads,
ship by rail,
trucks
In a day of fascinating and ingenious environmentally friendly ideas (see my post at Sustainablog on the Utah 4-day work week), a Taiwanese inventor, Peng Yu-lun, has devised a new method of rail transport that could very well increase efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
