Major Railroad Service Adopts Battery-Powered Locomotives For Long-Haul Travel
Image via Union Pacific
Last month, the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad announced its decision to purchase 20 battery-powered, electric locomotives to begin testing.
There are plans in place for these to be used in rail yards in California and Nebraska, where they’ll be tested in both cold and warm weather to evaluate their performance. Then, their full capabilities can be identified before “broader deployment” in future long-haul travel.
These electric locomotives are being acquired from Progress Rail and Wabtec Corporation, two names UP has declared to be “at the forefront of locomotive innovation.” Additionally, in a separate announcement by President Joe Biden, it was also stated that General Motors would be supplying the batteries.
UP has stated that for every 10 electric locomotives, around 4,000 tons of carbon will be eliminated every year. This would have the same effect as removing 800 cars from the highway.
According to the news release, this purchase is the “largest investment in battery-electric technology by a US Class I railroad.”
The first trains are scheduled to arrive by late 2023, and full delivery will be completed by late 2024.
This afternoon, @POTUS shared the news of Union Pacific’s commitment to assemble the world’s largest carrier-owned battery-electric freight locomotive fleet. pic.twitter.com/nBunSNpOh2
— Union Pacific (@UnionPacific) January 28, 2022
[via Futurism and Union Pacific, image via Union Pacific]
