With ‘Eco’ Locomotives, Norfolk Southern Partners with Communities for Cleaner Air
As part of a unique public-private partnership, Norfolk Southern is helping communities enhance air quality with the development of a new class of low-emission rail yard locomotives dubbed the “Eco” locomotive.
In 2015, NS introduced the Eco units at its Inman Yard in Atlanta and at its 47th Street Intermodal Facility in Chicago. NS delivered 10 of the locomotives to Atlanta and 15 to Chicago.
Branded “Eco” for their operating efficiencies in reducing emissions and fuel use, the 3,000-horsepower locomotives reduce emissions regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including nitrogen oxides, or NOx, a contributor to ozone and linked to climate change, particulate matter hydrocarbons and smoke.
The Eco locomotives were developed through NS’ unique rebuild program that recycles older locomotive bodies and upgrades engines with newer technologies that maximize fuel economy and emissions reduction. For the Eco units, NS used the body frames of a locomotive model built in the 1980s and equipped them with new low-emission engines.
Learn more about NS’ efforts to reduce locomotive emissions here.
