Rail Carrier 2.0.12 Tool: 

Technical Documentation

2012 Data Year - United States Version
Transportation and Climate Division

Office of Transportation and Air Quality

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Transportation and Air Quality

EPA-420-B-13-009

February 2013

Rail Carrier 2.0.12 Tool: 

Technical Documentation

2012 Data Year - United States Version
1 

SmartWay 2.0.12 Rail Tool 

Technical Documentation

2-1-13

1.0 Data Sources

The technical approach recommended for the SmartWay railroad model was developed 

to encourage railroad participation by providing methods to calculate emissions, fuel 

consumption, and comparison metrics based, to the extent possible, based on data the 

participating railroad companies have on hand and provide annually to the Department 

of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). For example, the approach

presented uses data elements that Class 1 railway companies submit in their annual R1 reports. Class I Railroad companies can use their most recent R-1 data for this 

SmartWay Tool. The relevant data reported annually to the FRA's R-1 forms include: 

Power Unit Information – Form 710

Locomotive Unit Miles – Form 755, lines 8-14

Railcar Miles by Type – Form 755, lines 15-84

Fuel Consumption by Fuel Type and Unit Type – Form 750, lines 1-3 

Ton-Mile Data – Form 755, lines 104, 110, 113

As Class 2 and 3 railroads do not need to provide detailed information to the FRA, in 

order for them to participate in the SmartWay Program they need to develop and submit 

the required data specific for their operations. Where a Class 2 or 3 railroad company 

does not have all of the required information, surrogate data are provided in the 

Appendix B of this report that may be useful to develop some of the basic data required 

for the Tool. 
2 

2.0 Emission Estimation

Regardless of the locomotive class, the SmartWay Rail Tool was designed to calculate 

CO2 performance metrics based on fuel consumption estimates, and NOx and PM 

emissions based on tier-specific engine operation information.

In the SmartWay Rail Tool, the data for line-haul (including short line-haul and 

passenger rail) and yard operations are handled separately, even though many of the 

data elements are the same. Line-haul and yard operations are sufficiently different that 

they require separate emission factors associated with the different duty cycles. If 

operational surrogates are needed, then these should be compiled specific to either 

line-haul or yard operations. 

The specific Rail Tool calculation outputs include:

a. total mass emissions (CO2, NOx, PM10 and PM2.5) 

b. g/ton-mile (gross, revenue, non-revenue)

c. g/railcar-mile (just total miles)

d. g/truck-equivalent-mile (just total miles)

The following presents the calculation procedures used to estimate these performance 

metrics. 

1. Calculating mass emissions (total grams)

a. CO2

1

 

i. Diesel fuel: grams of CO2 = total gallons diesel (freight + passenger + switching) x 

10,180 g CO2/gallon. 

ii. Biodiesel: The Tool uses the biodiesel blend percentage to interpolate between 

regular diesel and 100% biodiesel fuel factors, with 100% biodiesel = 9,460 

g/gallon. Therefore 20% biodiesel (B20) has a fuel factor of 

10,180 – (10,180 – 9,460) x (20/100) = 10,036 g CO2/gallon

 

iii. LNG: grams of CO2 = total gallons LNG (freight + passenger + switching) x 4,394 g 

CO2/gallon. 

iv. CNG: If input in cubic feet, grams of CO2 = total cubic feet (freight + passenger + 

switching) x 57.8. If CNG input is in equivalent gallons, the Tool multiplies total 

gallons by 7,030 g CO2/gallon.

v. Electric: grams of CO2 = total kWh x 682 g CO2/kWhr. See Appendix C for 

details.

 

1 With the exception of the electricity factors, the source of the fuel-based CO2 factors are discussed in the 

SmartWay Truck Tool Technical Documentation.
3 

b. NOx and PM

i. Diesel - Data Input Methods 2 and 4 (inputs differentiated by line haul and 

switcher)

1. The Tool first calculates the proportion of hrs/units by Tier level. 

a. The following provides an example for line haul units – 

Tier Level Hrs Fraction

Non-Tier - 3,000 hrs 0.15 

0 0 hrs 0.0 

0+ 1,000 hrs 0.05 

1 2,000 hrs 0.1 

1+ 5,000 hrs 0.25 

2 0 hrs 0.0 

2+ 4,000 hrs 0.2 

3 5,000 hrs 0.25 

Total 20,000 hrs 1.00 

b. The Tool repeats this calculation for the switcher distribution

c. The Tool then calculates weighted average fuel factors for NOx 

and PM, using the following table (source: 

http://www.epa.gov/oms/regs/nonroad/locomotv/420f09025.pdf). 

Table 1

Engine Tier Unit Type

g/gal

NOx PM10 PM2.5

Non-tier

Line-Haul/Passenger 270.40 6.66 6.46

Switcher 264.48 6.69 6.49

Tier 0

Line-Haul/Passenger 178.88 6.66 6.46

Switcher 191.52 6.69 6.49

Tier 0 +

Line-Haul/Passenger 149.76 4.16 4.04

Switcher 161.12 3.50 3.40

Tier 1

Line-Haul/Passenger 139.36 6.66 6.46

Switcher 150.48 6.54 6.34

Tier 1 +

Line-Haul/Passenger 139.36 4.16 4.04

Switcher 150.48 3.50 3.40

Tier 2

Line-Haul/Passenger 102.96 3.74 3.63

Switcher 110.96 2.89 2.80

Tier 2+

Line-Haul/Passenger 102.96 1.66 1.61

Switcher 110.96 1.67 1.62

Tier 3

Line-Haul/Passenger 102.96 1.66 1.61

Switcher 68.40 1.22 1.18
4 

i. Example calculation for the weighted NOx 

factor for line-haul case above:

Weighted average = 270.4 x 0.15 + 178.88 x 0.0 

+ 149.76 x 0.05 + 139.36 x 0.1 + 139.36 x 0.25 + 

102.96 x 0.0 + 102.96 x 0.1 + 102.96 x 0.25 = 

132.86 g/gal NOx

ii. The Tool repeats these calculations for PM10/2.5

iii. All calculations are then repeated for switchers

2. The Tool multiplies gallons of (freight + passenger) diesel by weighted 

average fuel factors for line-haul/passenger category. 

3. The Tool multiplies gallons of switcher diesel by weighted average fuel 

factors for switchers. 

4. The Tool sums grams for line-haul/passenger and switchers to obtain total 

tons for NOx, PM10 and PM2.5. 

ii. Diesel - Data Input Methods 1 and 3 (inputs NOT differentiated by line haul and 

switcher)

1. The Tool uses Table 2 to calculate the weighted average fuel factors2

Table 2

Engine Tier

g/gal

NOx PM10 PM2.5

Non-Tier 269.96 6.66 6.46

Tier 0 179.83 6.66 6.46

Tier 0+ 150.61 4.11 3.99

Tier 1 140.19 6.65 6.45

Tier 1+ 140.19 4.11 3.99

Tier 2 103.56 3.68 3.57

Tier 2+ 103.56 1.66 1.61

Tier 3 100.37 1.63 1.58

 

2 The factors in Table 2 are calculated by weighting the line haul/passenger and switcher values from Table 1 by the 

national average relative fuel consumption levels for these categories (0.925 and 0.075, respectively). National 

average values were obtained from 2010 R1 reports.
5 

2. The Tool follows the same process as for Data Input Methods 2 and 4, 

but there is no need to sum across unit types (step 4 above).

iii. Biodiesel – 

1. Biodiesel NOx and PM10/2.5 emissions are calculated by applying an 

adjustment factor to diesel emissions. Therefore the first is to multiply 

the biodiesel gallons by the diesel fuel factors as described above to 

calculate an unadjusted estimate for grams of NOx, PM10 and PM2.5. 

2. Next the Tool calculates adjustment factors based on % biodiesel blend 

specified – see Truck Tool Technical Documentation for references.

a. % change in emissions = {exp[a × (vol% biodiesel)] - 1} × 100%

Where a = 0.0009794 for NOx, and a = -0.006384 for PM10/2.5

b. The Tool applies the adjustment factor to the unadjusted grams 

of NOx and PM10/2.5 calculated above. In general PM emissions 

are somewhat lower than diesel emissions, while NOx emissions 

increase slightly.

iv. LNG – 3

1. The Tool first sums total gallons of LNG across line-haul, passenger, and 

switchers

2. The Tool then multiplies total gallons by 20.3 g/gal to obtain grams NOx; 

and by 1.35 g/gal to obtain PM10. The Tool multiplies the gallons value

by 1.31 to obtain PM2.5. See Appendix A regarding the source of these 

fuel-based factors.

v. CNG – 

1. The Tool converts cubic feet of CNG to gallons if necessary with 1 

standard cubic foot of CNT = 0.00823 equivalent gallons.

2. The Tool sums total gallons of CNG across line-haul, passenger, and 

switchers

3. The Tool multiplies total gallons by 20.3 g/gal to obtain grams NOx; and 

by 1.35 g/gal to obtain PM10. The Tool multiplies the gallons value by 

1.31 to obtain PM2.5. See Appendix A regarding the source of these fuelbased factors.

vi. Electricity – 

1. The Tool sums total kWh of electricity across line-haul, passenger, and 

switchers

2. The Tool then multiplies total kWh by 0.690 to obtain grams NOx; by 

0.058 for grams PM10; and by 0.033 for grams PM2.5. See Appendix C for 

details.

 

3 LNG, CNG, and Electricity factors do not vary with engine tier. Therefore the Tool does not calculate 

weighted averages based on tier level distributions, but simply uses the gallons and/or kWh amounts from 

the Operations screen.
6 

2. Calculate g/ton-mile for each pollutant (three types of “ton-miles”)

a. Grams per gross ton-mile: the Tool divides the grams of each pollutant (fleet total) by 

gross ton miles entered on Operations screen.

b. Grams per revenue ton-mile: the Tool divides the grams of each pollutant (fleet total) by 

revenue ton miles entered on Operations screen.4

c. Grams per non-revenue ton-mile: the Tool divides the grams of each pollutant (fleet 

total) by non-revenue ton miles entered on Operations screen.

3. Calculate g/railcar-mile for each pollutant5

a. The Tool divides the grams of each pollutant by total railcar miles (the bold total on the 

Cars screen)

4. Calculate g/truck-equivalent-mile

a. The Tool first calculates the weighted average railcar volume for the entire fleet. 

i. The Tool uses the final volumes for each car type – these may be the defaults, 

provided by the user, or a combination thereof. The defaults represent the 

national average values derived from the 2010 R1 reports, weighted by railcar 

miles – see Table 3 below.

ii. Using the distribution of total railcar miles by type as the weighting factors, the 

total railcar miles are summed (across Owned and Leased + private / Loaded + 

Empty – that is, the “Total” column on the Cars screen) for each type to 

determine the fractional contribution. Fractions must sum to 1.00.

iii. The Tool applies weighting factors to final volumes by car type and sums across 

all car types to obtain final weighted average railcar volumes (in cubic feet).

b. Calculate the “truckload equivalents” factor (TE): divide the weighted average railcar 

volume by 3,780 cubic feet.

6

c. g/truck-equivalent-mile = g/railcar-mile / TE, and is calculated for each pollutant.

 

4 Value reported in SmartWay Public Bin Export Report.

5 Value reported in SmartWay Public Bin Export Report.

6 Truck industry average freight volume is 2.78 TEU = 3,780 cubic feet (see Shipper Tool Technical 

Documentation, p. 24). 
7 

Table 3. National Average Railcar Volume Data (Tool Defaults)* 

Type in Tool Railcar Type Cubic 

Feet 

Source/Assumption

Key: Norfolk Southern (NS), Union Pacific (UP), Burlington 

Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), CSX Transportation (CSX), Guide 

to Railcars (GTRC), Chicago Rail Car Leasing (CRCL), Union 

Tank Car Company (UTCC), U.S Department of Agriculture 

(USDA)

Box-Plain 50' +

Box Equipped

Boxcar 50 ft and 

longer including 

equipped boxcars

7177 Based on the average of the following boxcar types: 

50ft assumed to be 5694 [reflecting the average of 5355 (NS), 

5431 (UP), 5238 (CSX), 6175 (BSNF), 6269 (GTRC)]. 

60ft assumed to be 6,648 [reflecting the average of 6618 (NS), 

6389 (UP), 6085 (CSX), 7500 (BNSF)].

50ft high cube assumed to be 6,304 [reflecting the average of 

6339 (NS) and 6269 (CSX)]. 

60 ft high cube assumed to be 6917 [reflecting the average of 

7499 (NS) , 6646 (CSX), and 6607 (GTRC)].

86ft assumed to be 9999 (NS).

Autoparts assumed to be 7499 (NS).

Box-Plain 40' Boxcar 40ft 4555 Based on estimate of 50ft boxcar volume described above. 

Assumed 40ft length would result in 20% reduction in volume.

Flat 

TOFC/COFC

Flat General 

Service

Flat all other

Flat car – all types 

except for multilevel

6395 Based on the average of the following flat car types:

60ft assumed to be 6739 (BNSF).

89ft assumed to be 9372(BNSF).

Coil assumed to be 3387(NS).

Covered coil assumed to be 5294 [reflecting the average of 8328 

(NS) and 2260 (BNSF)].

Centerbeam assumed to be 6546 [reflecting the average of 5857 

(UP) and 7236 (BNSF)]. 

Bulkhead assumed to be 7030 (BNSF). 

Flat Multi level

Multi-level flat car 13625 Based on the average of the following multi-level flat car types: 

Unilevel (that carry very large cargo, such as vehicles/tractors)

assumed to be 12183 (NS). 

Bi-level assumed to be 14381(NS). 

Tri-level assumed to be 14313 (based on average of 15287 (NS) 

and 13339 (BNSF). 

Flat Car – all 

types-including 

multi-level

7428 Based on the average volumes of the flatcar types described 

above including multi-level as a single flat car type. 

Gondola Plain

Gondola 

Equipped

Gondola – all 

types

Including equipped

5190 Based on the average of the following gondola car types: 

52-53ft assumed to be 2626 [based on average of 2665 (NS), 

2743 (CSX), 2400 (BNSF), and 2697(CRLC)].

60-66ft assumed to be 3372 [based on average of 3281 (NS), 

3242 (CSX), 3350 (BNSF), CRCL-3670,and 3366 (GTRC)].

Municipal Waste assumed to be 7999 (NS).

Woodchip assumed to be 7781[based on average of 7862 (NS) 

and 7700 (CRCL)].

Coal assumed to be 4170 [based on average of 3785 (NS) and 

4556 (BNSF)]. 

Refrigerator 

Mechanical

Refrigerated 

non-mechanical

Refrigerated -

Mechanical /nonMechanical 

6202 Based on the average of the following refrigerated car types: 

48-72ft assumed to be 6963 [based on average of 6043 (UP) 

and 7883 (BNSF)].

50ft assumed to be 5167(GTRC).

40-90 ft assumed to be 6476 [based on average of 6952 (UP) 

and 6000 (BNSF)]. 

Hopper Oper 

Top-General 

Service

Open Top Hopper 4220 Based on the average of the following open top hopper car 

types:

42ft assumed to be 3000 (UP). 

54ft assumed to be 3700 (UP).

60ft assumed to be 5188 [based on average of 5125 (UP) and 
8 

Type in Tool Railcar Type Cubic 

Feet 

Source/Assumption

Key: Norfolk Southern (NS), Union Pacific (UP), Burlington 

Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), CSX Transportation (CSX), Guide 

to Railcars (GTRC), Chicago Rail Car Leasing (CRCL), Union 

Tank Car Company (UTCC), U.S Department of Agriculture 

(USDA)

5250 (GTRC)]. 45ft+ assumed to be 4105 [based on average of 

4500 (UP) and 3710 (BNSF).

Woodchip assumed to be 7075 [based on average of 7525 (NS), 

5999 (UP), and 7700 (CRCL)]. 

Small Aggregate assumed to be 2252 [based on average of 

2150 (NS), 2106 (BNSF), and 2500 (CRCL)].

Hopper Covered

Covered Top 

Hopper

4188 Based on the average of the following covered top hopper car 

types:

45ft assumed to be 5250 (GTRC).

Aggregate assumed to be 2575 [based on average of 2150 (NS) 

and 3000 (CRCL)].

Small Cube Gravel assumed to be 2939 [based on average of 

2655 (NS), 3100 (CSX), and 3063 (BNSF). 

Med-Large Cube Ores and Sand assumed to be 4169 [based on 

average of 3750 (NS) and 4589 (BNSF)].

Jumbo assumed to be 5147 [based on average of 4875 (NS), 

4462 (CSX), 5175 (BNSF), and 6075 (CRCL)]. 

Pressure Differential (flour) assumed to be 5050 [based on 

average of 5124 (NS) and 4975 (CRCL)]. 

Tank under 

22,000 gallons

Tank Cars under 

22,000 gallons

2314 Assumes 1 gallon=0.1337 cubic foot (USDA).

Based on small tank car average volume of 17304 gallons, which

is the average of the following currently manufactured tank car 

volume design capacities of 13470, 13710, 15100, 15960, 

16410,17300,19900,20000,20590, and 20610 gallons (GTRC).

Tank over 

22,000 gallons

Tank Cars over 

22,000 gallons

3857 Assumes 1 gallon=0.1337 (USDA).

Based on large tank car volume of 28851 gallons, which is the 

average of the following currently manufactured tank car volume 

design capacities of 23470, 25790, 27200, 28700, 30000, 

33000, and 33800 gallons (GTRC). 

All other cars

Work Equip & 

company Freight

No payment carmiles

All Other Cars 5014 Based on average volume presented above for each of the nine 

railcar types (all flatcars are represented by the line item that 

includes multi-level flatcars - 7428). 

* References include:

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF). Available at: 

http://www.bnsf.com/customers/how-can-i-ship/individual-railcar/#%23subtabs-3

CSX Transportation (CSXT), Customer Equipment. Available at: 

http://www.csx.com/index.cfm/customers/equipment/railroad-equipment/#boxcar_specs

Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS), Customer Equipment. Available at: 

http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Customers/Equipment_Guide/

Union Pacific Railroad (UP), Customer Equipment, Car Types. Available at: 

http://www.uprr.com/customers/equip-resources/cartypes/index.shtml
9 

Guide to Railcars (GTRC), rail car types. Available at: 

http://www.worldtraderef.com/

Chicago Rail Car Leasing (CRCL), Rail Car Types. Available at: 

http://www.crdx.com/railcar.html

Surface Transportation Board (STB) , Industry Data, Economic Data,

and Statistical Reports, Class 1 Annual Report Financial Form R-1. Available at: 

http://www.stb.dot.gov/stb/industry/econ_reports.html

United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service,20005-4788, 

June 1992, Agricultural Handbook Number 697, Washington, DC. Available at: 

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ah697/ah697.pdf

Union Tank Car Company, Chicago, IL, Basic Design Specifications. 

Available at: http://www.utlx.com/bdd_tank.html
10

3.0 Activity Input Validation

SmartWay has developed general validation criteria based on 2011 R-1 report data in 

order to perform range checks on Partner activity inputs. These range checks are 

simply intended to identify unreasonable data entries only. Table 4 summarizes the R-1 

data used for each Class 1 Rail Line, as well as the range check values derived from 

the carrier-specific data. Range check values are displayed in bold. 

Maximum acceptable values for fuel use, ton-miles, car-miles, and unit miles for Class 1 

operators were set equal to three times the rail-line specific maximum shown in the 

table. Similarly, minimum acceptable values for Class 1 operators were set equal to 

one tenth for fuel use, ton-miles, car-miles, and unit miles. Maximum acceptable values 

for Class 2 and 3 operators were set at one tenth of the Class 1 maximum value. 

SmartWay will re-evaluate validation ranges to make them more precise, 

comprehensive, and consistent as Rail Partner data is collected in the future.
11

Table 4. 2011 R-1 Activity Data and Rail Tool Validation Ranges

Rail Line

Total Fuel 

Use (gallons 

diesel oil)

Gross tonmiles total 

(thousands)

Revenue 

Freight tonmiles 

(thousands)

Nonrevenue 

Freight tonmiles 

(thousands)

Total 

freight-car 

miles 

(thousands)

Total 

Locomotive 

unit miles

Locomotive 

Trainswitching 

unit miles

Locomotive 

Yard 

switching 

unit miles

BNSF 1,340,634,000 1,200,654,478 648,431,637 6,117,197 11,316,277 495,865,213 2,161,568 14,323,105

CSX 500,735,225 456,207,620 228,394,651 1,216,165 4,789,143 186,017,342 6,557,484 14,352,854

GTC 124,776,076 105,195,469 51,253,084 518,201 1,241,217 31,375,934 2,686,536 4,714,915

KCSR 64,833,378 55,889,957 30,485,863 1,338,343 628,431 23,846,725 516,654 26,504,929

NS 473,887,662 392,056,820 191,712,562 1,267,931 4,327,021 170,767,368 7,042,003 14,060,355

Soo 72,442,000 70,325,676 34,581,354 333,090 807,927 27,407,979 2,686,353 2,577,600

UP 1,117,851,152 1,072,705,764 544,397,317 5,485,720 11,012,608 424,786,444 12,635,406 19,169,964

Class 1 max 4,021,902,000 3,601,963,434 1,945,294,911 18,351,591 33,948,831 1,487,595,639 37,906,218 79,514,787

Class 1 min 6,483,338 5,588,996 3,048,586 33,309 62,843 2,384,673 51,665 257,760

Class 2/3 max 134,063,400 120,065,448 64,843,164 611,720 1,131,628 49,586,521 1,263,541 2,650,493

Class 2/3 min > 0 > 0 > 0 > 0 > 0 > 0 > 0 > 0
12

References

California Air Resource Board, Rail Yard Agreement, Sacramento California 2007.

U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Freight in 

America, January 2006.

U.S. Department of Transportation, Surface Transportation Board, Form R-1 

United States Code of Federal Regulations Title 40 Section Chapter 1, Subchapter Q, 

Part 600.113, Fuel Economy Calculations

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Regulatory Support Document: Locomotive 

Emission Standards Final Rule, 1997.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2009 Locomotive Emission Factor Study, Ann 

Arbor, MI.2009.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, MARKAL Input Data for non-Light Duty 

Vehicles, Research Triangle Park, NC 2009
A-1 

Appendix A: Locomotive Emission Factors

A-1. Fuel-based emission Factors

Table A-1.1 – Line Haul Locomotive Emission Factors 

(grams of pollutant per gallon)

Pollutant NOx PM10 CO2

Diesel 270.402 6.662 10,180

Biodiesel

(B-20) 1731 7.881 9,4604

CNG 7,0304

LNG 20.331.3533,8654

1. MARKAL data (2009)

2. EPA Locomotive Emission Factors (2009) 

3. ARB Rail Yard Agreement (2007) in terms of diesel equivalents

4. 40 CFR 600.113

Table A-1.2 – Small Line-haul Locomotive Emission Factors

(grams of pollutant per gallon)

Small LineHaul

Emission Factor 

g/gal

NOx 236.60

PM10 5.82

CO2 10,180

Uncontrolled yard locomotive emission factors were obtained from EPA's Locomotive 

Emission Factors (2009).

Table A-1.3 – Yard Locomotive Emission Factors

(grams of pollutant per gallon)

Yard

Emission Factor 

g/gal

NOx 264.48

PM10 6.69

CO2 10,180

Uncontrolled yard locomotive emission factors were obtained from EPA's Locomotive 

Emission Factors (2009). 
A-2 

All emission factors listed here reflect uncontrolled (i.e., pre-Tier 0) emission levels.
A-3 

Appendix B: Surrogate Locomotive Data

Surrogate Data for Emission Estimation

Data provided in the R-1 reports have been compiled and evaluated to identify useful 

surrogates that may help Partners gap-fill missing data. Because the data is from 

Class I operations, it may be biased to larger operations.

B-1 Surrogates for Calculating Fuel Consumption

The basic approach allows for emission calculations that roughly approximate 

emissions using reported total annual fuel consumption. If annual fuel consumption data 

are unknown, surrogate data, such as locomotive population, miles traveled, annual tonmiles or TEU-miles, can be used to provide an estimate for line-haul locomotive fuel 

consumption, as noted in the following table.

Table B-1 Fuel Usage Surrogates

Line-Haul 

Surrogate Data 

Options in 

Absence of 

Annual Fuel 

Usage

Number of 

Locomotives

Total 

Annual 

Locomotive

Miles

Total Annual 

Ton Miles 

Freight 

Transported

Total Annual 

TEU-mile 

Equivalents

Multiplication 

Factor for 

estimating Annual 

Fuel Usage (gal/yr)

132,800

(gal/yr*locomotive)

2.44 (gal/

locomotive

miles)

0.002 (gal/ton 

miles freight 

transported)

0.053

(gal/TEU-mile 

Equivalents)

Values used to develop the surrogates were derived from the Bureau of Transportation 

Statistics 2012 National Transportation Statistics Table 4-17 

(http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_04_17.htm

l) 

When using the basic approach to estimate yard locomotive emissions, the number of 

locomotives can be applied to the fuel consumption factors noted in the following 

equation to estimate annual fuel usage:

Yard Fuel Use (gal/yr) = 195,451 (gal/yr*yard locomotive) x Number of Yard Locomotives
A-4 

B-2 Surrogates for Metric Comparisons

The railroad model is designed to apply calculated emissions to a variety of operational 

parameters. This allows the derivation of metrics that can be used as a reference point 

to evaluate a Partner’s environmental performance relative to others. 

In instances where the necessary information has not been provided, surrogate data 

presented in Table B-2, may be used to estimate total miles traveled or the total annual 

ton-miles, based on the number of active line-hail locomotives in the Partner's fleet.

Table B-2 Surrogates for Estimating Annual Miles and Ton-Miles

Metric for Which 

Surrogate Data is 

Needed

Total Annual Train 

Miles Traveled

Total Annual 

Ton-Miles

Multiplication 

Factor for 

Estimating Train 

miles or ton-miles 

based on the 

Number of 

Locomotives

54,400

(miles/yr*locomotive)

63,744,000 (tonmiles/yr*locomotive)
A-1 

Appendix C – Derivation of National Average g/kW-hr Emission Factors

From Argonne GREET Model Version 1 2011. 

http://greet.es.anl.gov/ 

1. Electric Generation Mix (From Annual Energy Outlook 2010) 

U.S. Mix

Residual oil 1.0%

Natural gas 22.9%

Coal 46.4%

Nuclear power 20.3%

Biomass 0.2%

Others 9.2%

Biomass Type assumed = 100% forest residue

Others = Hydro, Wind, Geothermal, Solar PV etc.

2. Electric Transmission and Distribution Loss = 8.0%

3. Power Plant Emissions: in Grams per kWh of Electricity Available at Power Plant Gate

GREET-Calculated Emission Factors

By Fuel-Type Plants (Stationary and Transportation)

 Oil-Fired NG-Fired

CoalFired

BiomassFired: 

Woody

BiomassFired: 

Herbaceous

BiomassFired: 

Forest 

Residue

TOTAL based 

on US Mix 

NOx 0.833 0.578 1.058 1.169 1.169 1.169 0.634

PM10 0.157 0.023 0.100 0.135 0.135 0.135 0.054

PM2.5 0.118 0.023 0.050 0.067 0.067 0.067 0.030

CO2 834 505 1,083 1,086 1,016 1,379 627

CO2 in burnt biomass from atmosphere -1,086 -1,016 -1,379

Assumes no emissions from nuclear power plants or “Others” 

4. Power Plant Emissions: Grams per kWh of Electricity Available at User Sites (wall 

outlets)

Total power plant gate emissions/(1-electric transmission and distribution loss)

Total delivered based on US 

electric generation mix

NOx 0.690

PM10 0.058

PM2.5 0.033

CO2 682