The Brains Behind the Brawn: GE’s Trip Optimizer0
As fuel costs rise, many businesses are discovering that America’s railroad system is a more sustainable and cost-effective way to transport and distribute goods. And GE is on a quest to make this already efficient mode of transport even better with Trip Optimizer.
The Trip Optimizer is a sophisticated optimization software package that uses detailed information to help railroads consume less fuel and produce fewer emissions—a primary objective for many businesses.
Think of it as a super smart cruise control for trains. Just exactly how smart? By using a variety of data inputs, Trip Optimizer is able to calculate the optimal speed of a train and adjust the locomotive throttle accordingly.
Trip Optimizer can further increase efficiency by reducing fuel consumption up to 32,000 gallons a year.
In other words, railroads using the innovative software can set specific priorities—such as optimum fuel efficiency, a specific route, or arrival time—and Trip Optimizer will calculate the best locomotive performance to achieve their specific goal. Even the effects of train load, track conditions, and wind data are sensed, and Trip Optimizer continuously corrects for changing conditions.
Efficiency at scale
On average in 2007, major U.S. freight railroads moved one ton of freight 436 miles on each gallon of fuel.
“That’s the equivalent of moving a ton of freight all the way from Baltimore to Boston on just a single gallon of diesel fuel,” said Edward R. Hamberger, President and CEO of the Association of American Railroads.
Trip Optimizer can further increase efficiency by reducing fuel consumption up to 32,000 gallons a year. And if the technology was applied to a fleet of 1,500 GE Evolution Locomotives, it could save an estimated 48 million gallons of fuel per year, cut greenhouse gas emissions by an astonishing 547,500 tons, cut NOx emissions by 7,500 tons, and decrease particulate matter emissions by 300 tons.
This is possible by using detailed information from a series of sensors and processors, which eliminates unnecessary braking and controls the locomotive’s throttle, helping keep trains on schedule while minimizing fuel use.
If just 10 percent of the freight that is moved by truck was transported by rail, the U.S. could save over one billion gallons of fuel each year.
Using GPS, a digital track database and advanced algorithms that automatically learn the train’s characteristics, Trip Optimizer can create an optimal trip profile, which leads to even greater efficiency.
“After years of research and a considerable investment, we’re proud to reach this milestone, said Pierre Comte, President of GE Transportation Intelligent Control Systems. “It is a significant element in the future of fuel conservation with the added benefit of reducing emissions for railroads around the world.”
Looking ahead
The Trip Optimizer allows railroads to improve the bottom line while also reducing environmental impact, but just how much of a savings could this software actually provide?
If just 10 percent of the freight that is moved by truck was transported by rail, the U.S. could save over one billion gallons of fuel each year. What’s more, GE estimates that if every locomotive in North America used the Trip Optimizer, it would save approximately 2.3 billion liters (630 million gallons) of fuel per year—and that’s equivalent to eliminating more than one million cars from the road.
With the cost of fuel continuing to rise and concern for our environment growing, GE’s Trip Optimizer is a sensible and responsible solution for the locomotive industry.