advertisement

---

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 4 office recently awarded a $953,921 grant to the Alabama State Port Authority to repower a locomotive operated by the Alabama State Port Authority Terminal Railway to help improve air quality.

Through funding assistance from the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2010, the authority plans to spend $1.5 million to repower a 1980 GM EMD MP-15 diesel-electric switcher with GenSet technology. The repowered locomotive will meet the EPA’s locomotive emission regulations for 2012 under Tier 3, and with the addition of diesel particulate filters, meet federal Tier 4 standards, authority officials said in a prepared statement. The project is expected to take about six to eight months to complete.

The switcher is one of 10 locomotives operated by the Terminal Railway, which provides switching services for five railroads, rail ferries and manufacturers located at the port.

“The grant will accelerate our efforts to reduce diesel emissions and compliments a number of emission reduction efforts in the seaport,” said James Lyons, the port authority’s director and chief executive officer, adding that the authority already has deployed electric cranes and lift machinery in new terminals to reduce the port’s overall carbon footprint.

The repower project will help the authority reach its goal to reduce nitrous oxide, particulate matter and hydrocarbon locomotive emissions by up to 95 percent, and cut fuel consumption by 50 percent to 70 percent, he said.