CHICAGO — While Illinois plans for spending money from the Volkswagen legal settlement have changed, Metra’s locomotive fleet will still benefit.
The original plans for the $108 million the state will receive, as a result of Volkswagen’s settlement for circumventing clean-air regulations on its diesel automobiles, would have spent the majority of the funds on non-highway technologies, such as Metra’s locomotives. [See “Metra could benefit from Volkswagen settlement,” Trains News Wire, May 11, 2018.]
The Chicago Tribune reports that those plans have been adjusted after complaints from environment groups, and now will include more funding for electric school buses, other on-road vehicle projects, and electric vehicle charging stations.
But some funds will still be available to Metra. The first $20 million installment of the settlement funds will be directed toward commuter rail and public transit buses.
“Commuter rail projects will remove some of the oldest, dirtiest diesel engines in Illinois from service,” Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Alec Messina said, in a statement Wednesday from Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office quoted by the Tribune. “Funding replacement of transit buses will promote all-electric and alternate fuel technology and funding for electric school buses will protect the public health of some of our most vulnerable Illinoisans.”
Some of Metra’s locomotives date to 1977 and are notorious for their fuel consumption and pollution. Part of the fleet is scheduled to be replaced soon by surplus Amtrak locomotives, and the commuter railroad has estimated that those locomotives will pay for themselves in fuel costs alone.
John Rice, not to mention that the new Charger SC-44 Tier 4 locomotive next to the old diesel is built by another German corporation! Metro really should just order brand new Tier 4 locomotives instead of going cheap with old hand me down crap from Amtrak. It should be embarrassing to Metra for them to still be running 40 year old equipment when technology has advanced so much. Maybe the IL EPA or DEP should fine Metra for its unnecessary diesel pollution? Haha Metra is no better than VW for the health of the people who live in the Chicago area.
The irony hurts. Using VM diesel pollution awards to buy more diesels, with a picture of a old polluting diesel to lead the article.
I wonder how much of the settlement is going to “anything” outside the Metra service area?
I would also like to see how much it will cost to adapt the former Amtrak P Series for push pull operation.
@ Christophe Parker, I read somewhere
S that 614 was getting rebuilt and put back in service, although that was over a year ago. I think it was in Metra page under capital improvements maybe for 2016 or 2017
I would assume that Amtrak would not put its best locomotives in storage so Metra will probably be getting the bottom of the Amtrak barrel.
As for rebuilding the older locomotives, Amtrak does have a bid out for “new or rebuilt” locomotives. Whether this would involve the older F40’s is unknown to me
The “surplus Amtrak locomotives” are 21 F59’s used in west coast service that will be sent over to Metra as replacement Siemens SC-44’s arrive out west. https://www.railwayage.com/mechanical/locomotives/nice-price-metra-buy-amtrak-locomotives/
Could the old F40’s be rebuilt into 710 powered ECO units like some GP38’s and SD40’s (particularly on CP)?
“Surplus Amtrak locomotives”? The ones that will be idled by shutdown of the LD trains, maybe. Otherwise, the fleet is stretched to its limit by constant failures..
Lets bring back the Alco’s!!:-)
Replace rhe engine with a newer cleaner one and install a Small generator for HEP. Why trash the whole Locomotive? Besides having a prime mover constantly at higher rpm ffor HEP is SO 1960z.
The irony of using Mr. Lassen’s fine photo to lead the article is palpable. 🙂
Without defending Vee-Dub for a microsecond, I must say that diverting the settlement to Metra smells like just another government shakedown.
Amtraks P40/42s are Dash 8s. NS tried to rebuild its Dash 8s unsuccessfully.
Al DiCenso – Do any commuter lines run AC’s?
The P-40’s and -42’s would be likely candidates for rebuilding into modern AC’s, as in NS’s C40-9’s to AC44C6M’s.