Trends in Energy-saving Technology for Multiple Units from the Viewpoint of the Energy Consumption Rates of Railway Companies in Japan

Abstract

Ever since the beginning of railways, energy saving has been a key issue for railway companies. An energy consumption rate for the passengers, which is obtained by dividing energy consumption by the number of passenger-kms, is a useful index to demonstrate the effectiveness of saving energy technology. It is well known that the energy performance of passenger railways surpasses that of other modes of transport such as cars, buses and airplanes. The energy consumption rate of Japanese railways is published officially every year. Furthermore, individual railway company energy consumption rates can be calculated by dividing their energy consumption by the number of passenger-km, which both appear in official reports. This paper gives the distribution of railway company energy consumption rates and examines and describes trends in energy saving technology based on this distribution.