Pacific Harbor Line continues its search for new options to meet environmental standards. Insight gained this year through locomotive technology testing has proven fruitful.
“We are excited about these tests because they help to bring us into that zero/near-zero technology that everyone is looking for,” said James O’Kelley, F&M Rail Service president. “We are approaching the end of the demonstration testing for Tier 4 testing with the EMD24B.”
This year, such testing was an important step in hopes of fully utilizing locomotive systems that continually meet and exceed standards set by the California Air Resources Board’s hours-in-service verification testing process. O’Kelley said EMD24Bs have shown to be very dependable locomotives in the field. Their capabilities have been witnessed through several testing scenarios.
The ultimate goal is to use such engines in the ports to serve customers while minimizing environmental impact. Pacific Harbor Line continues to lead the way in the railroad industry toward achieving such ideals.
“It has been a very reliable unit from an operational stand-point,” O’Kelley said. “We want to make this technology successful. Its maintenance is similar to what we have in our current Tier 3 fleet. Our team has performed daily maintenance and federal inspections on it. The testing portion is putting it in service and using it to pull trains with PHL crews.”
During testing, EMD locomotive engineers make in-depth observations on how the locomotive operates and sets in motion the latest onboard software.
“At the shop, we have a back-and-forth with Caterpillar and EMD,” he said. “If they have hardware or software changes they want to make, they will send their locomotive engineers directly. The locomotive engineers and assistant engineers love the engine. It hasn’t met a train yet it couldn’t pull.”
O’Kelley noted that PHL has put forth even greater levels of testing in the past year. By becoming a demonstrating partner with the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, they are participating in VeRail project testing, which involve electric battery and compressed natural gas (CNG) locomotive propulsion systems.
The two methods act as new avenues in the pursuit of cleaner locomotive propulsion systems. Battery technology provides energy to turn the electric wheels and acts as a stored energy source when needed — it would be the equivalent of 2,000 horsepower. CNG technology on Genset engines has provided insight as to how this fuel may be used as compared to diesel. Testing for both technologies will continue throughout the year.
“Pacific Harbor Line owns and operates the cleanest locomotive fleet in the United States,” O’Kelley said. “We are always focused on being one step ahead on this technology.”