Amtrak’s Finally Running on Biodiesel

I don’t know how I missed this one, but it happened about a month ago. Amtrak converted one of its trains, the Heartland Flyer (which runs from Oklahoma City, OK to Ft. Worth, TX) to run on biodiesel. They wanted to see if it would be an effective way to reduce emissions on their trains.

Some sources are saying that it’s a good move for Amtrak. But others, like BNET, are saying it’s a greenwashing ploy to get publicity.

Amtrak used a $274,000 Federal Grant to convert the train to biodiesel. But, the train is using tallow-based biodiesel (an 80/20 blend, which means that 80% of the fuel is regular diesel, mixed with 20% biodiesel).

Tallow-based biodiesel means that it comes from cows. Now, some sources are claiming that Amtrak is going to save 200 million pounds of CO2 by using this biodiesel. But, that’s compared to the 100% petroleum-based diesel the company was using.

They’re not taking into account the enormous CO2 impact of the cows themselves. Some sources, like the UN, estimate that cows generate more CO2, on the whole, than driving cars. So, tallow-based biodiesel might be doing more harm than good.

Another thing is that tallow-based biodiesel is more expensive than regular diesel, which means fares are likely to go up on this route if the company keeps using the biodiesel longer than one year (which was the end-date for the experiment).

So, am I saying that Amtrak is willingly greenwashing us with this initiative? Well, no. I take Amtrak all the time, and I’d like to believe that they fell for a swanky presentation without fully understanding the broader implications of tallow-based biodiesel. At least, I hope so.