Life support is heavy

[bellinghman]

Inspired by a post by major_clanger, it's interesting to note fuel consumption for crossing Canada.

On the way out, The Canadian train from Toronto to Vancouver: 72,000 litres of diesel.
On the way back, WestJet 737-700 from Vancouver to Montreal (which is further): 13,000 litres of jet fuel.

The 737 carries 140 passengers.
I'm under the impression that The Canadian carries about 250 passengers in total, though I can't actually find figures.

Conclusion: per passenger mile, extreme long distance trains can end up burning more fuel than planes, due to the train carrying along bunk beds, showers, kitchens, etc., etc.

Edit: crazyscot pointed out some corrections, with most importantly the plane drinking about half what I'd assumed.

Comments

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the clarification of figures. I was giving a most-pessimistic figure for the plane, and assuming that the tanks were completely emptied. What I'd not checked was the actual range, which is somewhat further than I'd realised.

So, that means the plane is about half as thirsty as I thought.