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Regarding the relative efficiency of trucks vs trains, in the old days the average ton/miles per gallon of fuel for trucks was about 60, for rail was about 225. Over the last two decades, fuel efficiency per ton/mile has gone up dramatically for both modes. Trucks now can achieve 125 to 150 ton/miles per gallon, with a correlation between increasing GVW and increasing fuel efficiency. Some of those 140,000+ GVW Canadian rigs are approaching 200 ton/miles per gallon, close to the original railroad figure! Most of these increases can be traced to improved engine performance corresponding to increasing the load factor with larger GVW. <br /> <br />Of course, average rail fuel efficiency has increased to 600 ton/miles, with some unit trains approaching 1000 ton/miles net. Railroads have achieved this not only through improved engine performance, but also by eliminating branch lines and locals which tend to have lesser economics. The increase in axle loadings also has increased the load factor. And an increase in unit trains operations including intermodals has eliminated switching costs. But it is the elimination of branch lines and locals that has acheived the most. <br /> <br />Since trucks are approaching the ton/mile fuel economy numbers inherent in branchline operations, it makes sense in most cases to allow these branchlines to be lopped off in favor of truck. If the remaining carload commodities like chemicals and lumber are ever shifted to containerization, we'll see alot more branchlines eliminated.
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