Visual Scale - One to Two Days Worth of Fuel for a Single Large Coal Plant This might get a little boring. Think about how the people who live next to the tracks feel as they see fuel trains like this pass by with depressing regularity. There are 127 cars full of coal, each carrying approximately 100 tons of coal. That train is thus carrying 12,700 tons of coal. That is enough to fuel a 1000 MWe coal plant for a little bit more than one day.
In contrast, a large nuclear plant requires about three truckloads of fuel every 18-24 months. Which do you think has less of an impact on the environment? Which delivery system allows more resources to be directed towards more productive activities?