The majority of the freight trains in the United States only run
on diesel fueled engines. Recently, Burlington Northern Santa Fe
Railway, owned by Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, will
begin to test using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel
source. Burlington Northern Santa Fe tells us that it’s
motivation comes strictly from the fact that liquefied natural
gas produces much less greenhouse gases than does diesel.
Nevertheless, it also happens to be 88% cheaper than diesel
fuel, so I’m sure that’s another very favorable aspect of
liquefied natural gas. Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s CEO and
chairman, Matt Rose, stated that “the use of liquefied natural
gas as an alternative fuel is a potential transformational
change for our railroad and for our industry. While there are
daunting technical and regulatory challenges still to be faced,
this pilot project is an important first step that will allow
BNSF to evaluate the technical and economic viability of the use
of liquefied natural gas in through freigh