advertisement

---

CN recently placed orders for 70 new high-horsepower locomotives with GE Transportation and Electro-Motive Diesel Inc. (EMD).

The Class I plans to acquire 35 ES44DC 4,400-horsepower locomotives from GE beginning in fourth-quarter 2010 and 35 SD70M-2 4,350-horsepower units from EMD starting in January 2011.

The motive-power orders are part of CN's multi-year locomotive-renewal program aimed at increasing fuel efficiency, improving service reliability and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. The new units are designed to cut fuel usage 15 percent to 20 percent and reduce air emissions compared with conventional locomotives.

The new GE and EMD locomotives also will be equipped with distributed power (DP) capability to provide faster and smoother train starts, improve braking and reduce pulling forces at a train’s head-end, CN officials said in a prepared statement.