Wabtec Delivers 1000th Evolution Locomotive

Wabtec marked the delivery of the 1000th Evolution Series Tier 4 Locomotive at its plant in Fort Worth, Texas.

The delivery to CN highlights the commercial success of the locomotive, which set the standard for environmental performance in the freight-rail industry, the company said.

“This achievement underscores our bold decision in 2013 to develop a Tier 4 locomotive,” said Rafael Santana, chief executive officer of Wabtec’s Freight Division. “Delivering 1000 locomotives in less than five years proves it was the right locomotive at the right time to meet market needs.”

The Evolution Series Tier 4 was the first freight locomotive to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tier 4 emission standards. It decreased emissions by more than 70 percent compared to the Tier 3 locomotive without the need for aftertreatment. This Tier 4 saved railroad customers more than US$1.5 billion in urea infrastructure and operational costs. When combined with Wabtec’s digital solutions, like Trip Optimizer, the added functionality enabled the locomotive to realize 3-17% savings on fuel costs and further emission reductions.

“Our investment into these Tier 4 locomotives is integral to our growth and reflects our focus on leveraging technology to improve safety, efficiency and productivity,” said JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer of CN. “These fuel-efficient, AC traction, locomotives combined with our investments in additional capacity across our network will help our railroaders serve our customers safely and efficiently.”

“The success of the Evolution Series Tier 4 Locomotive has exceeded all of our expectations,” said Santana. “That is a tribute to our employees, suppliers and customers. Their support was essential in making this locomotive such a success in the market.”

Since delivering the first production model to BNSF Railway, the Evolution Series Tier 4 Locomotive has joined six Class 1 railroads and two mining companies in North America. The growing fleet already has completed more than 100 million miles of revenue service, the equivalent of hauling freight from Seattle to Miami approximately 30 000 times. They also have accumulated more than 2500 locomotive years of operation.