Rail

[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]

Bombardier Sifang Wins US$4B Contract to Build 80 Very High Speed Trains for China

September 28, 2009

The Bombardier ZEFIRO. Click to enlarge.

Bombardier Transportation’s Chinese joint venture, Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd., has been selected by the Chinese Ministry of Railways (MOR) to supply 80 ZEFIRO 380 very high speed trains (1,120 cars) for the country’s rapidly growing high speed rail network. The contract, including 20 eight-car trainsets and 60 sixteen-car trainsets, is valued at an estimated 27.4 billion Chinese Renminbis (US$4 billion, €2.7 billion). Bombardier’s share of the contract is estimated at 13.5 billion Chinese Renminbis, (US$2 billion, €1.3 billion).The first train is scheduled for delivery in 2012 with final deliveries expected in 2014.

The new trainsets will be an integral part of an evolving high speed rail capability in China, which is developing more than 6,000 km of new high speed lines. The trains, with maximum operating speeds of 380 km/h (236 mph), are based on Bombardier’s next-generation ZEFIRO high speed rail technology, and are powered by a Bombardier MITRAC propulsion and control system.

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California ARB Seeks Further Reductions of Diesel Emissions at State Rail Yards

September 26, 2009

Additional diesel PM reductions in 18 major CA railyards with five new locomotive measures. Source: Staff presentation. With Five Locomotive Measures Click to enlarge.

The California Air Resources Board directed its staff to take steps to provide further locomotive and rail yard emission reductions beyond those achieved by existing US Environmental Protection Agency and state regulations and agreements.

While current state and federal measures are on target to reduce toxic diesel locomotive emissions 65% or more by 2020, additional measures recommended by ARB staff would ultimately provide up to 85% or greater emissions reductions within the rail yards over the same period, resulting in cleaner air for nearby residential neighborhoods as well.

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BNSF Railway and Vehicle Projects Demonstrate Experimental Hydrogen Fuelcell Hybrid Switch Locomotive

June 30, 2009

Rear view of the fuelcell hybrid switch locomotive. The dual Ballard fuel cell stacks are to the left (i.e., rear) of the switcher. Source: Vehicle Projects. Click to enlarge.

BNSF Railway and Vehicle Projects Inc. of Denver/Golden, Colo., a developer of large fuelcell vehicles such as mine loaders and mine locomotives, unveiled an operational hydrogen fuelcell hybrid switch locomotive at BNSF’s Topeka System Maintenance Terminal. (Earlier post.)

Following its introduction, the locomotive is heading to the Transportation Test Center in Pueblo, Colo., for additional testing. Late this summer or early fall, depending on the outcome of the testing, the locomotive will go into service in the Los Angeles Basin, where it will face the test of actual service in the railroad environment.

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10-Year FTA Low-Speed Urban Maglev Research Program Shows Technology is Feasible, But Infrastructure Costs and Availability of Technologies Are “Intimidating”

June 08, 2009

Vehicle chassis of one of the UML research projects (General Atomics). Click to enlarge.

A 10-year US program to develop low-speed urban magnetic levitation (UML) technology has demonstrated that such systems are feasible to consider as alternatives in the US, but that the initial infrastructure costs and availability of safety and operationally certified maglev technologies are “intimidating”, according to a assessment report prepared by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

Maglev—a transportation technology in which trains are supported by magnetic forces without any wheels contacting rail surfaces—promises several attractive benefits including the ability to operate in challenging terrain with steep grades, tight turns, all-weather operation, low maintenance, rapid acceleration, quiet operation, and superior ride quality, among others. For urban alignments, maglev potentially could eliminate the need for tunnels and noise abatement, resulting in significant cost savings.

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GE to Open Sodium-Metal Halide Battery Plant in New York

May 12, 2009

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt shows a sodium-metal halide battery cell at the press conference announcing the battery plant. Click to enlarge.

GE will open a new battery manufacturing plant in Upstate New York that will serve as the main manufacturing facility for GE’s newly launched battery business. The battery business will be a part of GE Transportation and will serve customers in the rail, marine, mining, telecommunications and utility sectors.

GE says the planned facility will produce approximately 10 million sodium-metal halide cells each year—equivalent to 900 MWh of energy storage, or enough to support 1,000 GE hybrid locomotives. The first application will be GE’s hybrid locomotive, which will be commercialized in 2010. (Earlier post.)

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President Obama Outlines Vision and Plan for US High-Speed Passenger Rail System; $13B to Start

April 16, 2009

The envisioned high-speed rail corridors. Source: DOT. Click to enlarge.

President Barack Obama, along with Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, released a strategic vision and plan for a high-speed passenger rail (HSR) system in the US. The plan identifies $8 billion provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ARRA and $1 billion a year for five years requested in the federal budget as the components of an initial %13 billion investment.

The strategic plan will be followed by detailed guidance for state and local applicants. By late summer, the Federal Railroad Administration will begin awarding the first round of grants. Additional funding for long-term planning and development is expected from legislation authorizing federal surface transportation programs.

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Kawasaki to Produce Gigacell Bipolar NiMH Batteries for Transportation Applications

January 06, 2009

The KHI Gigacell bipolar NiMH stack. Source: KHI. Click to enlarge.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KHI) will begin manufacturing versions of the Gigacell bipolar NiMH industrial battery—originally targeted for grid applications such as output smoothing for wind and solar—for transportation applications, beginning with systems for rail applications, according to a report in the Nikkei.

KHI is also testing Gigacell-powered forklifts, and plans to expand the product line to include high-power models for industrial-use vehicles and high-energy models for use as emergency power sources. The company is also investigating a more compact version of the Gigacell for vehicle applications.

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