The rail freight ad copy read on NPR was actually something like "Our trains can move a ton of freight 500 miles on a gallon of fuel." That ton-miles/gal stat makes a lot more sense when you realize that trains are VERY heavy. It's like comparing passenger-miles/gal for a car and a 747.

See: https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-us/the-csx-advantage/fue...