I have just returned home from my trip up to Chicago to visit with the folks at CSX Intermodal.
In the interest of full disclosure I am letting everyone know that CSX did pay for my trip up and even bought us bloggers a nice dinner, that said I have to say I now have a new respect for the Railroads and in particular CSX for their often overlooked role in keeping our great nation’s freight moving and at the same time saving truly massive amounts of fuel and energy.
At the event were a number of CSX employees including:
Gary Sease, Director of Corporate Communications
Tom Livingston, VP of Public Affairs
Lauren Rueger Director of Advocacy Communications
Carl Gerhardstien, Director Environmental Systems
Lois Renjel, Director Government and Environmental Affairs
I would like to thank each of them personally for their hospitality and for including me in this truly educational event.
At dinner I think we all had an opportunity to learn about each others business, the interesting thing is that companies like CSX not only have an interest in “looking” green but have discovered that by actually going green they can make significantly more money.
Among the more interesting things that i learned on this trip were the following:
- CSX’s trains can move 1 ton a fright 423 miles using only a single gallon of fuel
- CSX has improved its fuel economy over 80 % since 1980
- A single train can carry over 280 trucks
- CSX recycles 3 million railroad tied every year, they are burned to generate electricity
- They also recycle engine oil from the locomotive which is used as heating oil in facilities
- Hundreds of tons of steel are recycled annually from tracks and locomotives
Here are a few photos from the event.
- About GenSet Locomotives
- GenSet locomotives are used to switch cars within rail yards. GenSet locomotives monitor engine idling and automatically switch to a “sleep” mode after a period of inactivity.
- GenSets achieve an impressive 80%+ reduction in nitrous oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions, in addition to approximately 50% CO2 savings capability in switching and road switching service.
- GenSet locomotives are significantly quieter than existing locomotives; they achieve the most stringent noise level requirements for off-road capital equipment.
- In contrast to existing locomotives, GenSets can be cranked up as quickly as a truck engine, avoiding the need to leave engines idling for long periods of time.
- GenSets utilize an engine load sharing system which evens out the wear and tear between each engine to reduce maintenance requirements by 35% or more.
- GenSets are EPA certified as an ultra-low emitting GenSet locomotive; they meet and exceed all current EPA railroad emission standards for locomotives (Tier II).
- CSX currently has three GenSets in the Rougemere Rail Yard located in Dearborn, MI.
- They were purchased through a public-private partnership.
- The funds were used to retrofit two diesel locomotives with GenSet technology.
- They were manufactured by a Mt. Vernon, IL-based company — National Rail Electric Company.
- The MI project cost $2.8 million. Federal and state funding accounted for 80% of the cost and CSX provided a 20% match.
Here is Youtube Video about the Genset locomotive
In this next Video I have edited together several segments of video from our visit to the rail yard to see the Genset locomotive as well as tour the yard in general.
When we arrived onsite it immediately started pouring rain so we did a lot of the tour via bus as you can see from the video. The CSX folks were real troopers and many of them ended up soaking wet from the rain, and had to stand up in the moving bus and talk to us about the yard operations. Still everyone was in good spirits and trip was both fun and informative.
We also learned some interesting fact about the greater Chicago:
The Significance of Chicago
- For almost 150 years, Chicago has been the largest rail hub in the country
- Chicago is the only city where all six Class-One railroads converge
- More than 1/3 of the nation’s intermodal traffic and half of the country’s container traffic passes through the Chicago area
- More than 1,200 trains pass through Chicago rail yards each day
- 37,500 rail freight cars pass through the city every day; this figure is projected to increase to 67,000 by 2020
- Trains passing through Chicago carry 75 percent of our nation’s freight, valued at $350 billion
- Depending on the time of year, Chicago is the third largest market for global traffic containers
- The regional freight industry employs an estimated 38,000 workers, accounting for more than $1.7 billion in annual wages
- Chicago’s freight industry contributes $22 billion in annual economic value to the region’s manufacturers and businesses
Future Investment
- In 2003, U.S. Department of Transportation, the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago, Metra, Amtrak, and the nation’s freight railroads launched the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE)
- CREATE will invest $1.5 billion in rail infrastructure improvements
- It is estimated that the project will create more than 1,000 jobs with an annual payroll of $50 million.
- The project will generate an estimated $140 million annually in purchases of goods and services from area businesses
All in all it was a great tripa and a learning expereince for myself and the other green bloggers present.
My thanks go out to the great folks at Apco world wide who arranged the trip and to all the great folks from CSX.
For More information about CSX and their green strategy here are some important company links:
CSX Annual Reports
http://investors.csx.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=92932&p=irol-reportsannual
CSX Responsibility Web Site
http://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=responsible.main
CSX Environmental Stewardship
http://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=about.environment
CSX Carbon Calculator This is very cool it alows you to calculate carbon savings achieved by uing rail vs other transportation means
http://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=customers.emissions_carboncalculator
National Gateway Web Site
http://www.nationalgateway.org/
Interactive System Map
https://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=about.map
CSX State Fact Sheets
http://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=about.state_facts
