Characterizing Fuel Use and Emission Hotspots for a Diesel-Operated Passenger Rail Service

Spatially varying diesel locomotive fuel use and emission rates (FUERs) are needed to accurately quantify local emission hotspots and their health impacts. However, existing locomotive FUER data are typically not spatially resolved or representative of real-world locomotive operation. Therefore, existing data are of limited use in quantifying the spatial variability in real-world FUERs. The objectives of this work are to quantify spatial variability in locomotive FUERs and identify factors differentiating hotspots from non-hotspots. FUERs were measured based on real-world measurements conducted for the Piedmont passenger rail service using a portable emission measurement system. FUERs were quantified based on 0.25 mile track segments on the Piedmont route. Hotspots were defined as segments in the top quintile of segment-average FUERs. On average, hotspots contributed 40-50% to trip fuel use and emissions. Hotspots were typically associated with low-to-medium speed, and high acceleration and grade. In contrast, non-hotspots were associated with high speed, and low acceleration and grade. Hotspots were typically located near populated areas and, thus, may exacerbate air pollutant exposure. The method demonstrated here can be applied to other passenger train services to assess key trends in hotspot locations and factors that explain the occurrence of hotspots.