Transporting something via freight train is a curiosity of a bygone age, the image of a dusty old train carting several tons of cargo along a rickety track isn’t just something that’s outdated, it belong in a history book. So then it may surprise you to learn that moving cargo via freight train isn’t just efficient, it’s wicked efficient.

As mentioned in the image above, some modern trains boast fuel efficiency as high as 500 miles per gallons, per ton of cargo moved. That doesn’t just shit all over other forms of moving cargo, it beats them to death with their own spines and pushes them 500 miles down wind so the smell of their inadequacy doesn’t linger.

This makes moving cargo by freight train at least 3 times more efficient than moving it by road, which of course means it’s three times better for the environment. Not to mention that moving something via train means it frees up valuable road space, which reduces congestion, which further helps mother nature.

So why are we gushing over this so much you ask? Well because it’s just so mind boggling, think about, it’s practically guaranteed that you’ve probably seen an advert for a truck or car in the last few days boasting about fuel efficiency. When’s the last time you saw an advert like that for a train? The people making engines for cars and trucks have spent decades trying to make them more fuel efficient and they’re still playing catch-up with a mode of transport that became outdated half a century ago. Sure you could argue that the people making train engines have been working on exactly the same thing, but why don’t they brag about it? They sure as hell deserve to.

This isn’t just a fun fact you can quote at dinner parties, this is something that fundamentally affects the cost of living, how much it costs to move something across the country is factored into its eventual cost and moving shit via train greatly reduces that cost. So our question is, why isn’t there a bigger push to move everything by freight train? Because according to the science, it’s the best option for everyone, especially if we like having an Ozone layer.

In other words, cars and trucks, you need to seriously step up your game!

Top image source.