advertisement

---

RailPower Technologies Corp.'s 2,000-horsepower Green Goat™ switching locomotive soon will have an offspring. On Oct. 11, the company announced plans to develop Green Kid™, a 1,000-horsepower switcher targeted at industrial operators, such as grain terminals, chemical plants and port authorities, according to a prepared statement.


RailPower, which is building the locomotive at Southern Rail in Burnaby, British Columbia, plans to equip Green Kid with remote controls. The first hybrid switcher would be available in early 2003.


"Green Kid is already starting to generate significant interest from local industrial operators in and around Vancouver, with several expressing strong interest in leasing this unit," said RailPower Executive Vice President Simon Clarke.


Union Pacific Railroad is more than halfway through a Green Goat demonstration lease, under which the railroad is comparing Green Goat's fuel usage and emissions with existing diesel/electric switching locomotives that're fitted with automatic shut-off devices to reduce idling.


RailPower plans to use results from the trial run to upgrade a number of the locomotive's components.


RailPower estimates that Green Goat can cut fuel usage 30 percent, and reduce certain emissions between 80 percent and 90 percent. Company officials believe Green Kid will offer similar benefits.