Mark Szakonyi, Daily Content Editor | Feb 22, 2012 2:06PM EST
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Wednesday awarded Kansas City Southern a $54.6 million loan to buy 30 new diesel-electric locomotives.
The locomotives, built by General Electric in Erie, Pa., will give the railroad improved train handling, more crashworthy cabs and state-of-the-art train controls. LaHood said the investment showed how President Obama’s support of domestic manufacturing boosts transportation, and vice versa.
The loan for the locomotives, which will produce significantly less carbon emission than the locomotives they are replacing, comes through the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program. The roughly $35 billion program helps railroads buy, improve and rehabilitate their networks.
“The RRIF program is a model of how we can leverage federal dollars to stimulate private investment and grow the economy,” said FRA Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. “The program provides steady, affordable financing for major rail construction and expansion projects.”
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