INTERNSHIP FUEL BURN ANALYSIS] June 11, 2014

Internship
Fuel Burn Analysis

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INTERNSHIP FUEL BURN ANALYSIS] June 11, 2014

Overview
CNs fuel productivity team has been asked by the Western Canada Transportation team to analyze the
amount of fuel burned on locomotives travelling from Melville, SK to Biggar, SK.
Fuel burn can be calculated in numerous ways, but you are asked to focus on two approaches:
-

Fuel sensor readings at start and end locations that show the amount of fuel in the tank at a
moment in time.

Theoretical calculations based on locomotive throttle position throughout the trip.

Inputs
You have been provided with an Excel file with:
- data collected from trips between these stations during portions of the months of February and March
- information on how much fuel is burned by a locomotive per hour based on what the throttle is set at
- information on what train a locomotive is assigned to
- information on locomotive models and manufacturers
Note that the data on the 4 sheets come from different source systems.
Deliverable
You are expected to provide a PowerPoint presentation highlighting your findings. A template is
provided but you are encouraged to make any changes or additions that you require.
The PowerPoint presentation should serve as a basis for your live presentation to the stakeholders.
Key questions:
Supporting your conclusions with data is strongly encouraged.
State any assumptions that you made.
What is the average fuel burn per locomotive between Melville and Biggar?
What is the average fuel burn per train between Melville and Biggar?
What is the most fuel efficient train?
What is the least fuel efficient train?
How does fuel burn based on fuel sensor information compare to theoretical notch setting fuel burn?
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INTERNSHIP FUEL BURN ANALYSIS] June 11, 2014

How does the fuel burn for units that used the new technology compare to units that do not?
How does the fuel burn for trains that used the new technology compare to units that do not?
Would you recommend that CN continue to invest in this new technology for fuel savings?
What is the most efficient locomotive model in terms of fuel burn?
What is the most efficient locomotive manufacturer in terms of fuel burn?

Supporting information
Columns:
Column names which are self-explanatory are not detailed below.

Trips sheet
Locomotive: CNs identifier for the unit.
Distance Traveled: Odometer-driven distance in miles between start and end points.
DistanceNT*: The portion of the distance in miles that was traveled using new technology being tested
by CN.
fuelLevelStartvalid, fuelLevelStartEnd: 1 refers to valid data in the corresponding column, 0 refers to
invalid data.
TimeIdleStationary: The amount of time (in minutes) the unit was idling and stationary.
TimeIdleStationaryForThirtyMinutes: The amount of time (in minutes) the unit was idling and stationary
for more than 30 minutes consecutively.
TimeIdleMoving: The amount of time (in minutes) the unit was idling and moving.
TimeTN1 - TimeTN8: The amount of time (in minutes) the locomotive was in a particular throttle notch
(1-8).
TimeDB: The amount of time (in minutes) the unit was using Dynamic Brake.
TimeShutdown: The amount of time (in minutes) the locomotive was not running.

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INTERNSHIP FUEL BURN ANALYSIS] June 11, 2014

Fuel Burn sheet

A locomotive has 8 throttle settings and each setting will generate a different amount of horsepower
and burn a different amount of fuel.
USG per hour: The amount of fuel burned (in US gallons) per hour in the corresponding state.

Train Info sheet

Locomotive: Corresponds to locomotive # on Trips sheet.
Train #: CNs train identifier, comprised of:
1st letter: Train category
5 digits: Train identifier
TrainDate: Train #s are unique per train date. This is the date that the train departed its origin station. A
train might be passing through Melville and Biggar on the day it left the origin or a number of days later,
depending on where the origin of the train is.
Ex: CN 8866 was assigned to the X11991 train of January 30th, however it traveled between Melville and
Biggar on February 1st.

Notes:
A locomotive has 8 throttle notches; 1 being the lowest, 8 being the highest.
All invalid fuel sensor readings should be ignored.
There can be multiple locomotives on the same train.
Due to late reporting by some clerks, some units may not have train information.
Departure and arrival are triggered by GPS readings. It is possible for a locomotive to depart a station
more than once in a short amount of time due to operational reasons and in this case there might be
two trips identified for this locomotive in the data. In this case, the earlier departure is a false
departure and should be deemed invalid and the later information should be used.
TimeIdleStationary + TimeIdleStationaryForThirtyMinutes = Total time spent idling stationary
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