A battery electric railroad fleet obtains energy from rechargeable batteries driving traction motors. These vehicles do away with climate-change-inducing coal, and diesel fuels that emit carbon gases. Progress has been slow because of battery capacity, but there is movement. Now the new Union Pacific Railroad battery electric fleet provides hope for the greener future.
Union Pacific Purchases 20 Battery Power Locos
The legendary freight hauling company with over 8,300 conventional locomotives announced the deal a couple days ago. However, two trials preceded this according to TechToSee:
1… Wabtec tested battery electric traction units on 18 trips last year, saving average 11% on fuel and emissions.
2… Caterpillar’s Progress Rail introduced battery locomotives in Long Beach and Los Angeles ports a couple months ago.
These initiatives opened doors to improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They made a small dent in the estimated annual 1,000 premature deaths from fossil fuel locos in United States. And also shaved a little off the $6.5 billion excess health bill.
Economic Benefits from Union Pacific Railroad Battery Electric Fleet
Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability completed a study last year. They concluded retrofitted battery-power locomotives could save railroads $94 billion in fuel costs over 20 years.
The Union Pacific Railroad battery electric fleet is a bold step forward on a journey its competitors will also have to take. The first units arrive in late 2023 with complete delivery by late 2024. They will take up duty in rail yards in California and Nebraska, where cold and warm weather performance testing will follow.
Lessons from these further trials with Progress Rail and Wabtec locos will be valuable input for technology powering future long-haul service fleets. And also for related over-road services, so essential for the vital freight-hauling service that underpins the American economy.
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