This thesis describes research undertaken to establish the advantages and disadvantages of using high pressure common rail fuel injection systems with multiple injection capabilities. The areas covered are detailed as follows. Oscillations in the rail pressure due to the opening of the injector can affect the quantity of fuel injected in subsequent injection events. The source of these oscillations has been investigated. A method of damping or reducing the oscillations has been defined and was applied. This successfully reduced the level of unpredictability of the quantity of injected fuel in subsequent injection events. A relationship between needle lift, injection pressure and the quantity of fuel injected was established. The effects of fuel injection parameters (main injection timing, split main separation and ratio) and engine operating parameters (boost pressure and EGR level) on emissions formations and fuel economy have been investigated at five operating points. Design of Experiments techniques were applied to investigate the effect of variables on pollutant emissions and fuel consumption. The sensitivity and linearity of responses to parameter changes have been analysed to assess the extent to which linear extrapolations will describe changes in smoke number (FSN) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx); and which parameters are the least constricting when it comes to adjustments of parameter settings on the FSN-NOx map. Comparing results for split main and single injection strategies at the five operating conditions shows that split main injection can be exploited to reduce NOx or FSN values at all conditions and both NOx and FSN simultaneously at high load conditions. The influence of changing engine speed and brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) on FSN and NOx emissions with given fixed values of parameter settings has been investigated. This established how much of the operating map could be covered by discrete calibration settings. Finally the variation in parameter settings required to maintain fixed FSN and NOx values across the operating map, near the optimum trade-off on the FSN-NOx map, was analysed. Combining the information gained from the individual investigations carried out highlighted some techniques that can be used to simplify the calibration task across the operating map, while also reducing the amount of experimental testing required.