BNSF and Wabtec Commence Battery-Electric Locomotive Pilot Test in California
January 04, 2021 at 06:01 pm
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BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) and Wabtec’s exploration of the future potential of battery-electric locomotives crosses another significant milestone this week as they begin testing the technology in revenue service between Barstow and Stockton, California. As BNSF seeks ways to further reduce its environmental impact, the advancement of battery technology offers some possible solutions. The battery-powered locomotive will be situated in a consist between two Tier 4 locomotives, creating a battery-electric hybrid consist. When running on the mainline, both the battery-electric and diesel locomotives will power the train. Watch Wabtec’s battery-electric locomotive video for more details on how it works. The battery-electric locomotive is expected to reduce the environmental impact from emissions along the route in an efficient manner, while improving the fuel economy for the entire consist by at least 10%. The pilot test will run from January until the end of March. If the initial pilot proves successful, BNSF will look to expand testing to other locations and operating conditions on its system. This initiative builds on BNSF’s existing investments in sustainable technologies including idle control, electric wide-span cranes, battery-electric hostlers, automated gates at its intermodal facilities, and Tier 4 locomotives. BNSF partnered with Wabtec on the development of the battery-electric locomotive, which features an overall energy-management system, including onboard energy storage that, when coupled with advanced system-optimization controls, will improve consist and train performance. The battery-electric locomotive pilot program is part of a $22.6 million grant awarded to BNSF and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District from the Zero- and Near Zero-Emission Freight Facilities (ZANZEFF) project by the California Air Resource Board to pilot several emissions-reducing technologies in and around railyards. The ZANZEFF project is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation is one of the world's leading suppliers of value-added technological equipment, systems and services for the transportation sector. The activity is aorganized primarily around 4 families of products and services:
- electronics and special products: including electronic positive train control and pneumatic braking systems, event recorders, monitoring equipment, couplings, gears, couplers, air compressors and heat exchangers;
- transit products: heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, doors for buses and metro cars, pantographs, window assemblies, couplers, traction motors, etc.;
- brake components and friction products;
- refurbishment, overhaul and construction services: suburban locomotive construction and switching, overhaul and refurbishment of buses, subway cars and locomotives.
Net sales per market are divided between rail freight transport (71.9%), bus, metro and high-speed train transport (28.1%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (47%), North America (9.1%), Europe (17%), South America (3.6%), Africa (1.1%) and other (22.2%).