Green Technology at Union Pacific
Genset
The first of 60 new environmentally friendly locomotives to go to work in Union Pacific Los Angeles Basin rail yards was delivered to UP's Commerce yard January 31, 2007. These state-of-the-art ultra-low-emissions locomotives reduce emissions of both nitrous oxides and particulate matter by up to 80 percent, while using as much as 16 percent less fuel compared to current low-horsepower locomotives.
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Evolution Series
The Evolution Series Tier 2 12-cylinder locomotive produces the same 4,400 horsepower as its 16-cylinder predecessor and it does so using less fuel. This is a long-haul road unit that cuts emissions and particulate matter by more than 40 percent. Each locomotive will consume 189,000 fewer gallons of fuel in its lifetime than those built just two years earlier. Since 2000, UP has acquired more than 2,600 new fuel-efficient long-haul high-horsepower locomotives. Our new locomotives comply with stricter U.S. EPA Tier 0, Tier 1 and Tier 2 standards.
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Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF)
Union Pacific is testing technologies to reduce diesel engine emissions in older locomotives. A Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) was installed onto a 1,500 horsepower unit used for yard switching. The DPF acts as a filter using high-temperature silicon carbide blocks to trap particulate matter in the exhaust. As the gases containing the carbon particles accumulate, a device periodically heats the carbon, causing it to ignite and burn off as water and carbon dioxide. Initial static tests of this locomotive show an 80 percent reduction in particulate emissions. This one-year test is North America’s first experimental use of this type of "after-market" technology on a yard locomotive.
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Hybrid Green Goat Switcher
The Hybrid "Green Goat" Switchers use state-of-the-art diesel-battery hybrid-technology designed to cut air emissions by 80 percent and reduce diesel fuel use by 16 percent. The locomotive is powered by a large bank of batteries. When energy stored in the batteries is depleted to a pre-set level, a small, low-emission diesel engine automatically starts to power a generator that recharges the batteries. Union Pacific has 22 "Green Goat" hybrid switchers.
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Oxicat
Union Pacific is the first railroad in the U.S. to conduct a year-long test to determine if this type of "after-market" technology will reduce emissions in older long-haul road locomotives. This locomotive is equipped with an experimental oxidation catalyst (Oxicat) filter inside the engine exhaust manifold. Initial static tests show:
- 50 percent reduction in particulate emissions,
- 38 percent reduction in unburned hydrocarbons and
- 82 percent reduction in carbon monoxide.
The Oxicat filter has met the EPA’s Tier 2 new locomotive requirements for particulate matter.
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