A better way for freight rail

Josh Raglin, chief sustainability officer at Norfolk Southern, spoke with FreightWaves about recent developments in sustainability, technology and growth.

Sustainability through modal shift

Rail transportation is more efficient and creates fewer emissions compared to truckload transportation, a huge potential for a supply chain that is putting more pressure on measuring and reducing emissions within its network in the form of a carbon calculator.

“Freight rail has a really, really great story there, and it’s becoming more important for many of our shippers. We’ve got the most efficient way to move products over land,” Raglin said, adding, “You’ve got all of these corporations with decarbonization goals, they’re starting to realize their supply chain emissions are most of their emissions.”

He notes that for some companies, 70% to 90% of their emissions come from their supply chain, including contracted transportation providers. Norfolk Southern realized there was added value by taking an antiquated emissions data process and updating it via the company’s telematics system. Raglin said one big driver of emissions is fuel burn.

“We actually started measuring fuel burn for every shipment we move. So we use primary data from locomotives, getting fuel burn up to every 15 minutes. We apply that to every shipment on the train based on weight. So heavier shipments get more fuel burn, lighter ones, less fuel burn. We track that as that shipment goes across our network, and then we also add in fuel for yard and local moves and if it’s intermodal lift equipment, we add that in as well. And we’re also capturing how much fuel is used for idling and repositioning empties. We’re capturing the whole life cycle of what it takes to move something across our network.”

One big surprise from the data gathering came when looking at intermodal and its efficiencies. 

An average Class 8 tractor’s fuel efficiency is around  6.5 mpg, but once you add in idling and empty miles, it’s less than 5 mpg. For Raglin, a big selling point was intermodal efficiency. 

“The big surprise was intermodal. Intermodal is a lot more efficient than what we give it credit for. You know that network has really changed. It’s dense. It’s double stacked. It’s moving very efficiently on our dense corridors. We’re moving containers up to 35 miles per gallon, so that’s equivalent to a Honda Accord with 15 tons of freight on board. The equivalent truck is around 5 mpg, so we’re getting up to seven times the advantage of the equivalent truck move and that really resonates.”

This data was then used to create a portal where both customers and the public can access Norfolk Southern’s carbon calculator to get estimates.

Another sustainability innovation came from NS updating to hybrid and fully electric cranes for its Austell Intermodal Terminal.

“Those [cranes] are the first of their type in North America and are really highly efficient units, fully electric,” Raglin said. “It’s taken some challenges getting those deployed. They’ve got long umbilical cords for the electrical feeds, but it’s really gonna advance operations, speed it up, save a lot of emissions from diesel fuel. The cranes themselves are much easier to work on, and there’s a lot less downtime, so they’re going to be in operation more frequently than your standard diesel hydraulic crane. So it’s really a win-win.”

Innovation through technology

Technology is another way Norfolk Southern is innovating through its AccessNS technology platform, which allows customers to view and manage the life cycle of a shipment from start to finish. The tracking component helps with shipments from railcar location and visibility to back-office support like billing.

While AccessNS is the customer-facing platform, for operations and intermodal carriers, the ExpressNS+ mobile application handles the ingate, outgate, on-terminal and pregate procedures to make things easier for the drayage community. For drivers, obtaining visuals of parking and pickup location, submitting bad order information, and reporting equipment damages using their camera are a few features highlighted.

Part of the reason behind the driver applications comes from the added complexities associated with drayage moves. “I spoke with a driver recently, and he had eight different ways that he had to go on different intermodal carriers just to plan his day and plan his shipments. … That is so inefficient,” said Raglin.

Looking ahead, he believes the next step is to take all these options and combine them under one application called ModalView that is currently in beta testing.

“So it’s gonna be a single app. So you know how for rideshare, you go to Uber, Lyft, you only have two choices, right? And you book a ride and there’s thousands of drivers out there. Well, imagine if you could do that for drayage. And now all the [intermodal carriers] are using the same app and all the drivers are using the same app and so for a driver he can go on there and accept trips.

“It creates way more efficiency in the network, a lot less empty miles. He can do more trips per day and guess what? He also gets paid faster and so does the IMC because all of the waybilling is all electronic as well.”

Raglin added, “We really think it’s gonna be a game changer for intermodal, because it’s that first mile and last mile that is often not only the most expensive, but it’s also where a lot of the issues can happen on the delivery times.”

“With ModalView it’s all tracked on the phone, just like you’re tracking Uber and Lyft.

And it’s also geofenced, so when they get close to the terminal, the QR code pops up on their phone, they show their phone to the reader. They go right in and guide them to the box.”

Fueling growth through investments in people and alternate fuel sources

One area of growth Raglin is excited about is the production and use of biofuel. In the near term, over the next 10 years, Norfolk Southern hopes to increase its usage of low-carbon fuels. It has more than doubled its usage last year of biofuels to over 8 million gallons.

For renewable diesel, a challenge is that while production is ramping up in the eastern United States and prices are coming down, there remains a green premium when fueling the locomotives.

Another option NS is looking at are hybrid locomotives and battery electric tenders. The battery electric tenders would be connected to the locomotive and provide power and are swapped out for a new tender once the original is low on charge.

In addition to investing in alternative energy, Norfolk Southern is making investments in its people by supporting a startup incubator based in Atlanta.

“When we think about recruiting employees, I use the example that when we first opened our building up here to Atlanta. I hosted a group from Georgia Tech that weren’t familiar with Norfolk Southern, and after five minutes they said, ‘You are a technology company’ and I said, ‘Yes, we’re a technology company’ so we can recruit very strongly with people that have an interest in both technology and sustainability.”

Raglin realized that for potential employees, understanding Norfolk Southern’s story is becoming more important.

“We’re continuing to invest in things like the Advanced Technology Development Center in Atlanta, so that’s 18 startup companies that are all tech companies that are creating solutions to tackle sustainability challenges,” Raglin said. “These people are new to the rail industry, and they’ve got ideas that are so creative, they come up with great solutions and I think that’s what everybody is starting to realize when it comes to sustainability: You can’t just operate in your own lane.

“So that’s what’s really exciting is a lot of the things that we’re doing across the company, whether it be in marketing, facilities and intermodal, or safety, it’s all about how we can support our customers and the communities that we serve, so that we all win.” 
To learn more, visit norfolksouthern.com.

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