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Emission factor specification

Retrieved 2026-08-25

Rail

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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Emission factor
0.0220862
kgCO₂e/shotton-mile
Data grade
Secondary
Edition
—
Source
US EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Source: CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions data for road vehicles are from Table 2-13 of the EPA (April 2023) Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2021 data. Vehicle-miles data for on-road vehicles are from Tables A-73 - A-75 of the EPA (April 2023) Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2021 data, Annexes. CO2e emissions data for non-road vehicles are based on Table A-107 of the EPA (April 2023) Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2021 data, which are distributed into CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions based on fuel/vehicle emission factors. Freight ton-mile data are from Table 1-50 of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics (June 2022): 2020 data." "Notes: Vehicle-mile factors are appropriate to use when the entire vehicle is dedicated to transporting the reporting company's product. Ton-mile factors are appropriate when the vehicle is shared with products from other companies. A Passenger cars are automobiles used primarily to transport 12 people or less for personal travel, and are less than 8,500 lbs in gross vehicle weight. B Light-duty trucks are vehicles that primarily transport passengers such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and minivans. This category also includes vehicles used for transporting light-weight cargo which are equipped with special features such as four-wheel drive for off-road operation. The gross vehicle weight normally ranges around 8,500 pounds or less. C Medium- and heavy-duty trucks are vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than around 8,500 pounds, such as single unit trucks, combination trucks, tractor-trailers, and box trucks used for freight transportation. In addition, this category includes some vehicles that are not typically used for freight movement such as service and utility trucks.

1Factor specification

Values are per kgCO₂e/shotton-mile

Product
Rail
Activity name (original)
Rail Transportation (TTW)
Factor value
0.0220862 kgCO₂e/shotton-mile
Unit basis
shotton-mile
GWP
AR5
Calculation approach
AR5 GWP100
Method
Tank-to-Wheel (TTW)
Data period
2020
Year published
2024
Region
USA · USA
Dataset edition
2024

2Where it sits in the industry spread

0.1% of 28 · smaller than the median

US EPA · 단위 shotton-mileBottom 25% band
0.0211773Median 0.1264411.31998

Compared against 28 factors in the same unit (shotton-mile). Product families may be mixed, so treat it as indicative only. Measuring concrete and steel sheet with the same ruler says little.

3Breakdown by gas

4 items provided by the source

CO₂e total
0.0220862
CO₂
0.0218932
CH₄
0.0000479014
N₂O
0.000145073

4Factors to compare

0 under the same product · 6 with a similar value

Product · manufacturerRelationEditionFactor (kgCO₂e/shotton-mile)vs this factor
Waterborne Craft · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.0367668▲ 66.5%
Waterborne Craft · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.0408116▲ 84.8%
Waterborne Craft · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.0416959▲ 88.8%
Waterborne Craft · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.0449628▲ 103.6%
Waterborne Craft · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.0602045▲ 172.6%
Waterborne Craft · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.078398▲ 255.0%

Notes

  1. 1)The value is as published by US EPA; we do not alter it. EPA Emission Factors Hub
  2. 2)Factor values in the table are unified to kgCO₂e for comparison. The original unit is in "Factor specification".
  3. 3)Even with several editions the value often stays the same. "Checked and unchanged" is an answer too.
  4. 4)One of 13,844 factors from public sources. ecoinvent, EXIOBASE and IEA factors bar redistribution, so they aren't here. See why
Source: US EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), Dataset edition 2024, retrieved 2026-08-25. View original