“For over a decade, [Iowa Interstate] has invested heavily in infrastructure to support our customers and increase safety,” says Iowa Interstate President and CEO Joe Parsons. “The purchase of these locomotives will help us remain competitive and poised for the growth we are currently experiencing.”
Industry-wide data makes clear the positive momentum Iowa Interstate and GE Transportation are facing. For the first 38 weeks of 2018, U.S. rail traffic was up 4 percent compared with 2017, according to the Association of American Railroads.
“Our technology solutions are driving improved productivity and reliability to [Iowa Interstate’s] fleet and helping this valued customer move freight more efficiently.” says Yuvbir Singh, GE Transportation’s vice president of equipment.
The agreement also includes equipping these new locomotives with GE Transportation’s GoLINC Platform, Trip Optimizer System, and Distributed Power LOCOTROL to maximize train effectiveness and efficiency. These solutions are part of GE Transportation’s Train Performance product suite, which optimizes power distribution, train handling, brake control and fuel utilization. Additionally, these digital offerings will be installed on IAIS’s existing Evolution Series installed fleet of 17 locomotives.
“We are proud to partner again with GE Transportation,” Parsons says. “These locomotives and their digital technology will allow us to provide safe, quality transportation services in a way that enables our customers and our company to succeed.”
The GE Evolution Series locomotive meets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s stringent emission standards without the use of any after treatment, enabling railroads to gain significant savings through urea infrastructure cost avoidance and reduced operational costs.
— A GE Transportation news release. Oct. 3, 2018.
I have heard of urea, but what is “urea infrastructure cost avoidance”?
I’m beginning to wonder if anybody is buying EMD anymore!
Why worry about the loco colour as corporate GE is caught in corporate toilet flush about to enter the realm of good old George Westinghouse their former arch enemy, Not good news for USA locomotive design leadership.
Blue and white would be wonderful, but any other RI scheme or the standard IAIS scheme would look nice also.
Let them enter service in Rock Island blue and white!
Are any going into any heritage paint scheme?