While freight trains may be able to move a ton of freight 457 miles on a single gallon, the total volume of goods carried by freight rail is expected to double over the next 25 years. That means demand for faster, more fuel-efficient trains will continue to push the research and development of better locomotives, more direct routes, and in the case of a recent announcement from GE (NYSE: GE), control devices that will reduce the amount of fuel required to move goods around this and other countries.

GE's new Trip Optimizer software creates an optimal trip profile that can minimize braking by automatically learning a train’s characteristics. The system calculates the most efficient way of running by considering such factors as train length, weight, grade, track conditions, weather and locomotive performance.

The four class 1 railroads testing the Trip Optimizer saw their fuel use drop approximately 7 percent — a reduction of more than 37,000 tons of CO2 -- saving 3.3 million gallons of fuel.

GE estimates that Trip Optimizer will cut fuel consumption by three to fifteen percent, depending on the length of the train, the route it travels and the locomotives used.

Trip Optimizer is the third in a series of software advances from GE Transportation. It joins the LOCOTROL Distributed Power product that increases hauling capacity and reduces operating costs and the RailEdge Movement Planner that enables railroads to move more freight faster on their existing networks.