CSX, Tacoma Rail elicit funds to embrace groundbreaking battery-powered switchers
10/31/2023
By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
A Class I and a short line operating on opposite U.S. coasts plan to take their sustainability efforts to the next level thanks to a major influx of government funding.
CSX and Tacoma Rail each plan to use federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program grants to help replace highly air-polluting locomotives with zero-emission switchers.
For CSX, the Maryland Department of Transportation won an $11.6 million CRISI grant to replace the Class I’s switchers at the Port of Baltimore. The railroad will provide a 50% funding match for the $23.2 million project.
Three older diesel-electric switchers will be replaced by new battery-electric locomotives and one battery charging station will be installed at the port.
The switchers will be the first-ever zero-emission locomotives at an East Coast port, the project partners say. CSX will own and operate the battery-electric locomotives at its Curtis Bay coal terminal near the port.
On an annual basis, the switchers are expected to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 1,530 metric tons, nitrogen oxides by 71 metric tons and particulate matter by 3.43 metric tons compared with the older locomotives. In addition, locomotive noise at the terminal will be reduced by an estimated 70%.
The battery-powered switchers will reduce air pollution and locomotive noise at the Port of Baltimore, which handled a record amount of cargo last year. Port of Baltimore“We look forward to working together with our partners, including federal, state and local agencies, to advance this vital infrastructure improvement project, fostering sustainable transportation solutions and enhanced connectivity for all,” says CSX Resident Vice President Brian Hammock.
Meanwhile, Tacoma Rail landed a $4.1 million CRISI grant to replace two nearly 60-year-old, diesel-electric switchers with new battery-electric locomotives in Washington state. The funds also will help the short line — which is owned by Tacoma Public Utilities — install corresponding onsite battery-charging infrastructure.
Headquartered in Tacoma, the railroad serves 43 customers on 43 miles of track in two operating divisions located in Pierce County. Tacoma Rail is providing a 34% funding match for the project, which also has gained $3.6 million from the Federal Highway Administration.
The project will help advance freight-rail electrification technology in the region and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, Tacoma Rail and state officials say. The battery-electric units are projected to eliminate 1,240 pounds of diesel particulate matter each year to help improve local air quality.
“The [CRISI] funding will allow Tacoma Rail to operate the first-ever zero-emission locomotives in the state of Washington, which is great news for everyone who works or lives near the Port of Tacoma,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) in a press release.
The short line will replace two nearly 60-year-old, diesel-electric locomotives with two new battery-electric switchers in Washington state. Tacoma RailThe two older diesel-electric switchers — which were built in 1965 — will be scrapped, says Tacoma Rail Assistant Superintendent Alan Matheson.
“This will result in an annual reduction of approximately 65,000 gallons of diesel fuel consumed in our operations,” he says. “Our local electrical utility has provided assurance that they can support the anticipated demand associated with this project.”
Tacoma Rail anticipates issuing a request for proposals for the battery-electric locomotive project in spring 2024.
“We have been in conversations with multiple U.S. locomotive manufacturers about the project, but are not currently partnered with one specific supplier,” says Matheson.
Earlier this year, the state awarded a $5 million grant to Tacoma Rail through the Washington State Carbon Emissions Reduction Fund to help cover the project’s cost.