BNSF Railway Co. and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District were preliminarily awarded a $22.6 million zero- and near-zero emission freight facilities grant from the California Air Resource Board.

The award will allow the railroad and the air district to pilot several emissions-reducing technologies in and around railyards.

Credit: BNSF RailwayThe grant will cover roughly half the cost of what is estimated to be a $45 million project. The remaining amount will be funded by BNSF and the other corporate partners.

As part of the project, BNSF will partner with GE Transportation on a battery-electric locomotive that will be paired with diesel locomotives to power a freight train traveling from Stockton to Barstow in California.

As part of its scope of work, GE Transportation will develop an all battery-electric locomotive to test the technology’s potential operational benefits and growth potential in the freight rail industry. The company will design and build an AC Evolution series locomotive featuring an energy-management system, including onboard energy storage and system-optimization controls intended to improve performance.

The battery-electric locomotive would generate 2,400 kilowatt-hours of power and could potentially reduce a freight train’s total fuel consumption by an estimated 10% to 15%.

In addition, two hybrid, rubber-tire gantry cranes from Mi-Jack will be conceived; one at the Stockton Intermodal Facility and another at the San Bernardino Intermodal Facility. The hybrid cranes, when compared to their diesel counterparts, may be able to reduce emissions by 70%.

A Taylor all-electric side loader will also be piloted at the San Bernardino Intermodal Facility. Finally, BNSF will partner with SH&H, a drayage truck provider, to demonstrate a BYD-made, all-electric drayage truck in San Bernardino.

The equipment will be manufactured in 2019 and deployed in 2020.