Government of Canada navigation bar

Symbol of the Government of Canada

Primary site navigation bar

Breadcrumb

Transcript: Rail America

Transcript and Alternative Formats

Video Length: 04:40 seconds

Select one of the available formats to view the video. For explanations of the different formats, please see our Multimedia Help page.

Windows Media [ high resolution | low resolution ]

Quicktime [ high resolution | low resolution ]

Transcript

Title: Rail America

Railways are one of history's most enduring modes of transportation-and still vital to our economy today.  Take, for example, the Southern Ontario Railway.  Hauling more than forty-four-thousand carloads of freight throughout the Hamilton and Brantford region every year, it's just one of Canada's many shortline and regional railroads.  And as any rail operator can tell you, time is money.

To make sure they're always ready to roll-especially in cold weather conditions when engines can freeze up-operators will keep their locomotives idling, even when they're not in use.  All that idling adds up - an average of one-thousand-three-hundred hours per locomotive each year. Not only does this waste fuel, but more idling means more greenhouse gases and other contaminants spewed into the air.  “During colder weathers, and that is a temperature of 5 degrees Celsius or less, the locomotive would have to run 24 hours a day seven days a week in order that the systems would not freeze.  Since the installation of the (auxiliary power units) APUs, we've seen many benefits.  The locomotives are starting on time; we're operating on time.  That, of course, relates directly to customer satisfaction, locomotive reliability, and has extended the engine life.  It's a better environment for everybody because those gases aren't going into the atmosphere.” 

Looking to improve its bottom line as well as the environment, Southern Ontario Railway, with funding from Transport Canada's ecoFreight Program, installed auxiliary power units (APUs) onto its locomotives.  Acting as a secondary power source, the APU ensures the locomotive's engine will start, even in the coldest temperatures.  “An APU is an auxiliary power unit that is part of an idling reduction technology that allows the locomotive to shut down automatically, after 30 minutes.  The APU consists of the diesel engine and the generator that powers up three immersion heaters, one oil heater and a battery charger.  These are only running on temperature demand.  This will result in a 90% fuel savings when the locomotive is in idle position.” 

To demonstrate their potential, a total of 23 APUs were installed across the four Canadian divisions of Rail America - a company that owns 40 regional railroads throughout North America.  Four were tested on the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway... Two on the Ottawa Valley Railway... Eleven on the Goderich-Exeter Railway... And six on the Southern Ontario Railway.

After six months of testing, idle fuel consumption had dropped by 89 percent - an average savings of 3, 900 litres per locomotive per month.  The financial pay back is expected to be substantial.  If one APU costs approximately $36,000, and if diesel prices are about $1.00 per litre, each APU will pay for itself in 7 to 8 months.  And with such a quick return on investment, it's no surprise that Rail America is looking to use the APU technology on a much larger scale. 

“Some of the other benefits that installing the APU's has brought is reduced noise pollution, improve customer service, and minimize delays.  This project has been very successful between Transport Canada and Rail America. It has really opened our eyes to being more costs effective, and environmentally friendly.”

Transport Canada's ecoFreight Program, brings government and industry together to encourage the uptake of technologies that reduce emissions and fuel consumption.  “Transport Canada's very pleased with the results of the project by Rail America and its four Canadian companies. These companies saw a significant drop in their emissions.  This clearly shows the financial payback, and the environmental benefits.  And this is great news that we can share with the rest of industry and with companies that are thinking about adopting this type of technology.”  Rail America and the Southern Ontario Railway are setting the example for other rail operators to follow-showing how a simple investment can have a dramatic effect on both operating costs and the environment. 

Date modified:
2011-10-25