EPA Funds Emission Gear on 29 Locomotives

Eight short line railroads in four New England states will share in a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to refit aging locomotives with anti-idling devices.

The EPA said it awarded $850,000 from its 2010 National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, to cut emissions of soot, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide from 16 line-haul locomotives and 13 rail yard switchers. This is the latest in a series of steps the federal agency has been taking to help freight operators upgrade some equipment.

The grant, which is being matched by about 23 percent cash and labor contributions from the railroads, went to an eight-state agency called the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, or NESCAUM.

The rail equipment targeted for the grants is used in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. They will be fitted with auxiliary power units that can sharply reduce the amount of time the engines are idling, thereby cutting fuel use and exhaust from locomotives that were built as far back as 1948.

NESCAUM said the total project cost of $1,103,750 includes about $35,000 for each installed APU. The units have to be ordered and built, and their procurement may take about nine months before installations can begin. The agency expects technicians to complete the refits on all engines up to four months after receiving the APUs.

The groups anticipate substantial savings in fuel and emissions, since the locomotives involved run on idle for an estimated 44,200 hours and may use 230,000 gallons of diesel fuel in that time.

An APU also uses a small amount of fuel to power necessary engine systems and allow a rapid restart when the engine’s pulling power is needed, but the project still expects to cut 207,368 gallons of fuel use a year and more than 2 million gallons over the 10-year life of an APU.

The railroads involved are Claremont-Concord Railroad in Schuykill Haven, Pa.; RailAmerica’s Connecticut Southern Railroad and New England Central; Cape Cod Central Railroad and Massachusetts Coastal Railroad, owned by Cape Rail; MassCentral Railroad, based in Palmer; New Hampshire Northcoast Railroad; and Vermont Railway.

-- Contact John D. Boyd at jboyd@joc.com.