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Through November, BNSF Railway Co. remained on pace to improve fuel efficiency 1 percent compared with last year and meet its 2005 goal of 761.4 gross ton miles (GTM) per gallon. The railroad finished 2004 with a mark of 752.9 GTM per gallon

After 11 months, the Class I’s fuel efficiency stood at 758.9 GTM per gallon, saving 11 million gallons of diesel and about $20 million compared with 2004 fuel usage. Through November, the railroad consumed about 1.4 billion gallons of fuel (or about 4 million gallons daily).

During the past 10 years, BNSF has improved fuel efficiency about 10 percent by changing train handling practices, lubricating wheel flanges, operating longer trains, distributing locomotives more efficiently, obtaining newer power, and shutting down idling locomotive engines manually and automatically.

“Fuel is the railroad’s largest material expense, and with oil prices being highly volatile, efficiency will continue to be critical to our fuel savings,” said Jeff Wright, BNSF assistant vice president of locomotive utilization, in a prepared statement.