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Yesterday, the New York City Economic Development Corp., New York City Department of Sanitation, New York City Department of Small Business Services and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of a $2 million grant through the 2011 round of the EPA National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program to repower two conventional freight locomotives.

Slated to be operational by late 2013, the locomotives will be repowered through a public-private partnership with CSX Transportation, the New York & Atlantic Railway (NY&A) and Waste Management of New York. The work calls for removing the old engines and replacing them with newer, cleaner propulsion systems. Both locomotives will be repowered with generator set (GenSet) technology. The conversions will save about 31,000 gallons of fuel, and remove about 32 tons of nitrogen oxides and 0.6 tons of particulate matter from air emissions annually, the EPA estimates.

The first retrofitted locomotive will be based at the Fresh Pond rail yard in Glendale, N.Y., and be operated by NY&A. The unit — which will be the first locomotive in the region to meet the EPA’s Tier 4 emission standard that takes effect in 2015 — currently is operated on the Bushwick and Lower Montauk branches. NY&A and Waste Management will cover additional project costs.

The other locomotive, which is operated by CSXT, will be based at the Oak Point yard in Port Morris, N.Y. The unit will meet the EPA’s Tier 3 emission standards and complement four GenSet locomotives that CSXT already operates in the area. The Class I will cover some project costs.

“This locomotive adds to CSX’s fleet of environmentally advanced locomotives,” said Carl Gerhardstein, CSXT’s assistant vice president-environmental systems, in a prepared statement. “The unit’s fuel efficiency, reduced carbon footprint and reduced emissions make rail transportation an even more environmentally responsible choice for moving goods.”