GE Transportation, a unit of General Electric Company (GE), has introduced the new line of fuel efficient and low emissions Evolution Series locomotives, Model ES44C4. The new Model ES44C4 is part of company’s ecomaginationSM environmental program that delivers clean, fast, safe and more reliable alternative to the aging North American fleet of DC-powered locomotives. Compared to older DC locomotives, the new Model ES44C4 utilizes up to 17% less fuel and reduces emissions by about 70%.
The company is building the new locomotive at its Pennsylvania manufacturing plants in Erie and Grove City.
“Railroads helped build this country, and this locomotive is proof that manufacturing and heavy industry can deliver the innovation that will drive economic growth,” stated Lorenzo Simonelli, president and chief executive officer of GE Transportation. “This latest Evolution Series locomotive is an industry breakthrough, delivering a modern and efficient AC locomotive that replaces the older, less fuel efficient and less emissions friendly, DC-powered models. It also provides a direct replacement option for the current six axle, 4400 HP locomotives being delivered today.”
Simonelli added: “By introducing advanced technology that requires less maintenance, reduces fuel consumption and lowers emissions, we are providing our North American customers with an opportunity to upgrade their aging fleet with better performance – both on the rails and for the environment.”
The new Evolution Series locomotive delivers significant performance improvement over existing DC-powered locomotives in three key areas:
Advanced technology:
The new Model ES44C4 offers a sophisticated traction control technology with its patented Dynamic Weight Management System that continuously monitors traction at the axles and automatically adapts to increase performance on heavy trains. This system, similar to traction control on an automobile, limits wheel slip at start up, on inclines and in adverse weather conditions, ensuring optimum performance and less wasted energy. Additionally, this new Evolution locomotive has a higher top speed than traditional DC-powered locomotives.
Greater reliability:
Older, DC heavy-haul locomotives presently need frequent and expensive maintenance to keep them running that translates to considerable time off the tracks instead of hauling freight. The company’s new AC motors have fewer parts to maintain and remove the electrical problems that hamper DC motors. As a result, they are easier to maintain and offer a higher level of reliability that will enable the new ES44C4 to spend more time on the rails instead of in the shop for maintenance and repairs. Ultimately, this new platform could replace the older generation of DC-powered locomotives in hauling the company’s nation’s freight.
Better environmental performance:
Six hundred of GE’s new locomotives can displace up to 800 older locomotives, translating to an annual reduction of more than 70 million gallons of fuel, the equivalent of taking 115,000 cars off the road for a year. The overall annual emissions reduction from this displacement is estimated to be 48,000 tons of nitrous oxide; 1,500 tons of particulate matter; and one million tons of carbon dioxide.
BNSF road test:
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) is the launch customer for this new model, and recently took delivery of 25 locomotives. Chris Roberts, BNSF vice president of mechanical and value engineering stated, “We are putting these locomotives through rigorous testing to determine the benefits of this new AC alternative, and the early results have been positive.”
Evolution Series Locomotive:
The Evolution Series Locomotive, unveiled in 2002 and introduced into revenue service in 2005, represents a $400 million investment by GE over eight years. GE Transportation recently celebrated the delivery of its 3000th Evolution Locomotive.
The Evolution Series Locomotive is 5% more fuel efficient and generates 40% lower emissions than previous locomotives. It saves about 300,000 gallons of fuel over its lifetime. Additionally, the Evolution Series Locomotive is more than 6% more fuel efficient than GE’s closest competitor in North America as validated by a nationally recognized, independent research institute in March 2009.
The Evolution Series Locomotive is one of company’s prominent ecomaginationSM products. Ecomagination is a GE-wide initiative to help meet customer demand for more energy-efficient products.
Evolution Series Locomotives presently are operating in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, Mongolia, Australia, Kazakhstan and Egypt. About 17,000 GE locomotives are in use in over 50 countries around the world. GE Transportation’s Evolution Series success story serves as a powerful reminder that free trade and open markets worldwide sustain businesses and employment opportunities in North America and beyond.