New Delhi: Virginia Tech researchers from University’s Transportation Institute have developed a multi-train simulation software (NeTrainSim) to display the countrywide shift from diesel usage to alternative fuels for freight trains.
NeTrainSim software has an open-source model, can run several simulations on the country’s freight trains network. The software will run different simulation tests on the train’s ability to run on alternative fuel sources like biodiesel and hydrogen.
Hesham Rakha, Center for Sustainable Mobility, VTTI, director said on this software, “We now have some solid results that quantify the savings of transitioning freight trains to electric and other alternative fuel sources across the U.S. And this tool is now out there to be used by others. Anyone can run it on any rail network they want.”
NeTrainSim has been developed under the Achieving Sustainable Train Energy Pathways’ multi-university and team project. The U.S. Department of Energy has funded this project to decarbonizes freight trains and create a tool for simulation to test all the alternative fuels.
Through this simulation platform, Hesham Rakha and his team have found that electrically powered trains are very efficient. As compared to diesel, these trains reduce the energy consumption almost by 56%. Further, hydrogen fuel cell technology had an almost 15% decrease in energy consumption without any carbon dioxide emissions.
This VTTI model was created to measure and compare the tank efficiency or the train’s engine, implying additional studies will be required to evaluate the impact of various other factors like battery life and technologies used to generate the electricity to power freight trains.