GE completes first of CN's new locomotives

CN and GE Transportation this week marked the completion of the first of 200 new locomotives that were manufactured at GE's plant in Fort Worth, Texas.

The unit is the first produced under a multiyear purchase agreement signed late last year between CN and GE. It was the largest locomotive contract by a Class I with any manufacturer since 2014, GE officials said in a company blog.

"The delivery of this first locomotive is a testament to our commitment to investing for the long haul," said CN Interim President and Chief Executive Officer JJ Ruest. "More locomotives, combined with more conductors, help us serve our clients better, faster, and with fewer emissions than other modes of long haul transportation."

The order includes Tier 3- and Tier 4-compliant Evolution^™ Series locomotives equipped with GE Transportation's GoLINC^™ platform, Trip Optimizer™ system and Distributed Power LOCOTROL® system.

The agreement includes a locomotive training package to ensure safe and proper maintenance practices, along with guarantees for reliability, fuel consumption and out-of-service intervals related to GE-prescribed field modifications, GE's blog stated.