Carnegie Mellon University Joins Partnership to Decarbonize Rail Freight Transport - The Green Voice

This  month, Carnegie Mellon University and the global transportation  company, Wabtec, formally agreed to work on decarbonizing freight rail  transport together. According to a press release, the agreement will  help both parties fulfill their visions of building “a more sustainable  freight transportation network.”

Wabtec also announced a joint  effort with Genesee & Wyoming, a major owner of short line and  regional freight railroads, to “pursue zero-emission battery and  hydrogen freight strategies, as well as increase rail utilization across  North America.”

The announcements were made during a gathering at  CMU attended by elected officials such as Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Bob  Casey.

“Pennsylvania has a long, proud history of railroads and  railroad manufacturing. Freight rail is also already a relatively  efficient means to move critical supplies around the country,” said  Casey. “This effort helps tackle the climate crisis by prioritizing  electric and clean energy technology.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says that the commonwealth boasts 65 operating railroads, the highest in the country, and ranks near the top in total track mileage, more than 5,600 miles.

Casey  added that the announcement would also place Pittsburgh “at the center  of efforts to address climate change through transportation policy and  will also spur significant job growth, reduce greenhouse gas emissions  dramatically and allow the U.S. to lead internationally in creating  zero-emission solutions for rail.”

Additionally, CMU, Wabtec, and  Genesee & Wyoming will work to create the Freight Rail Innovation  Institute. The initiative will develop zero-emission locomotives, and  technology to increase freight rail utilization, improve safety by 50  percent, and create 250,000 jobs by 2030. Genesee & Wyoming’s  Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad will pilot technologies developed by  the Freight Rail Innovation Institute, including a zero-emissions  battery and hydrogen-powered train that will run on over 200 miles of  track between Pittsburgh and Buffalo, N.Y.

“The time is right to  accelerate the application of emerging technologies to transform the  rail industry,” said CMU President Farnam Jahanian, adding that CMU  looks forward to bringing the school’s “research capabilities” and  “proven track record of success with industry partners to this important  effort.”

                                           

                                        

“The transportation sector is at a critical inflection  point,” says Santana adding, “With technologies providing increased  battery and hydrogen power capacity, we have the potential to eliminate  up to 120 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year in North  America.”

Wabtec has proven its commitment to creating a cleaner  rail industry with the debut of FLXdrive, touted as the first heavy-haul  battery-electric locomotive. Earlier this year, Wabtec’s FLXdrive was  tested during a three-month pilot in California, covering more than  13,000 miles of track. Wabtec claims the FLXdrive reduced the railways'  CO2 emissions by approximately 69 tons. It also reportedly reduced  overall fuel consumption by more than 11%, saving over 6,200 gallons of  diesel fuel.

Wabtec is now in the process of developing the  second generation of its FLXdrive locomotive, which is predicted to  reduce fuel consumption by up to 30 percent across the train.

Genesee  & Wyoming CEO Jack Hellmann says that, while freight railroads  already provide the most “environmentally friendly mode of surface  transportation,” the industry has a “critical role to play” in the  nation’s “decarbonization strategy.”

His claim is backed up by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, which, in 2019, found that rail was one of the lowest greenhouse gas emitters  in the U.S. transportation sector. Rail contributed about 2% of the  sector’s overall greenhouse gases, compared to the 58% produced by  passenger cars and 24% produced by medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

Various reports also cite rail as being far more fuel-efficient, and able to carry more freight, than trucking.

“Through  this partnership, we plan to transform the next generation of freight  rail transportation by adopting advanced technologies that can eliminate  emissions and increase rail utilization without requiring significant  new rail infrastructure,” says Hellmann. “The end result will be a  cleaner environment, more competitive transportation for our nation’s  industrial producers, and a freight rail system that remains the most  efficient in the world.”