ERIE, Pa. —Wabtec and Australian mining firm Roy Hill have unveiled world’s first 100% battery-powered, heavy-haul locomotive for mainline service in ceremonies today (Oct. 31, 2023) at Wabtec’s Erie manufacturing facility. The FLXdrive locomotive contains 72 lithium-ion modular battery packs with a total of 36,288 cells, giving the locomotive an energy capacity of 7 megawatt-hours. […]
RIO DE JANEIRO — Wabtec has landed the first South American order for FLXdrive battery locomotives, with Brazilian-based, multinational mining and logistics firm Vale placing an order for three of the locomotives. The companies will also collaborate on a study of ammonia as an alternative locomotive fuel. The three locomotives, to be built at Wabtec’s […]
NEW YORK — Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive project has been named “Commercial Technology of the Year” at the annual Platts Global Energy Award ceremony, held last week. In a Commodity Insights Magazine report, judges indicated they liked the fact that Wabtec “has engaged a lot of customers” and is “already generating revenue” from the project. […]
PITTSBURGH — Wabtec has announced a $600 million agreement to provide 150 battery-electric switch engines using its FLXdrive technology for Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, Kazakhstan’s national railway company. The memorandum of understanding also includes modernization work to convert KTZ’s mainline locomotive fleet with its NextFuel liquid natural gas system. The announcement coincides with the InnoTrans international […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway has begun testing Wabtec’s battery electric FLXdrive locomotive in revenue service between Barstow and Stockton, Calif. The red and gray FLXdrive locomotive, Wabtec 3000, is spliced between a pair of conventional Wabtec Tier 4 locomotives for pilot runs that will extend through March. The first train out of Barstow […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway has begun testing Wabtec’s battery electric FLXdrive locomotive in revenue service between Barstow and Stockton, Calif. The red and gray FLXdrive locomotive, Wabtec 3000, is spliced between a pair of conventional Wabtec Tier 4 locomotives for pilot runs that will extend through March. The first train out of Barstow […]
The California Air Resources Board pitted a standard diesel-electric locomotive consist against zero-emissions alternatives – including battery-electric models from Wabtec and ProgressRail as well as Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s hydrogen fuel cell locomotive – in a hypothetical test run from the Port of Los Angeles to Barstow, Calif. The analysis concludes that the current zero-emissions […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National will purchase a plug-in, hybrid diesel-battery mainline locomotive from Progress Rail, the companies announced today. The first-of-its kind unit for North America will be evaluated on CN’s main line in British Columbia, starting in Prince George and the northern part of the province, to increase the railroad and rail industry’s knowledge […]
ERIE, Pa. — If you’ve wondered what it looks like to paint a locomotive, Wabtec has released a short video condensing the 7-to-10-day process — requiring two-person crews working two shifts — to just over a minute and a half. The locomotive being painted in this video, incidentally, is not your run-of-the-mill diesel with your […]
As the railroad industry searches for ways to reduce and ultimately eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions, Wabtec sees hydrogen as the locomotive fuel of the future, whether it’s burned in internal combustion engines or used to power fuel cells. “We think this is going to be an impactful technology. We’re not seeing this as a […]
REDBANK, Queensland — Australia’s largest freight rail company, Aurizon, has contracted with Progress Rail to build what the companies are calling the first zero-emission-capable freight locomotive to be constructed in Australia, a battery-electric unit. Progress Rail will retrofit one of Aurizon’s existing 4000-class diesel locomotives, Clyde Engineering units built by Walkers, at the Progress Rail […]
As the world continues to shift toward more sustainable and eco-friendly modes of transportation, many industries are exploring new technologies that can help reduce their carbon footprint. The railroad industry, in particular, is looking for ways to reduce emissions and become more environmentally friendly. One potential solution is battery-powered locomotives. But are they really possible […]
