Railroad Primer

Photovoltaic Railroad Power Installations
… Morningstar’s Controllers Are Delivering Solar Success
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Today, the railroad is the most cost-effective and energy-
efficient way to move freight. Railroads are also greener and
more sustainable than ever—delivering environmental and
safety benefits.
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• Switching from truck to rail shipments means less fuel
used and less greenhouse gas released.
• Every mile that a truck, or car for that matter, is not
driven adds to the safety of everyone else on the road.
Furthermore, in recent years the railroad industry has adopted
the use of LED Signal Lights, which along with the use of the
digital, pulse technology, has greatly lowered power
consumption and helped fuel the use of Solar by the railroad
industry.
Case in Point - North America
North America’s railroads move more goods across the continent than any other transport
medium. Additionally, with fuel prices rising and shipping rates better than they have been
in over a decade, railroad’s freight industry is experiencing a resurgence
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. A train can move
one ton 450-500 miles on one gallon of fuel—a train can carry the load of 280 trucks
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—
which makes it three to four times more fuel-efficient than trucks. In fact, in 2012 the U.S.
freight railroads spent $10.7B on new trains, tracks and other infrastructure, their highest
amount ever. As a frame of reference, according to the Federal Railroad Association’s
National Rail Plan
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:
• America’s freight rail network spans 140,000 miles.
• The rail industry is reinvesting 40 cents of every dollar they earn back into
infrastructure.
• The total freight shipments are expected to rise 61% in the next three decades to
16.9B tons in 2050. That’s quite a leap from 2010 figures, when roughly 12.5B tons
were moved.