(GE Transportation Systems issued the following news release on July 1.)
ERIE, Pa. — GE Evolution Series(TM) locomotives continue to perform extremely well as the initial three units surpassed 75,000 miles of active revenue service over the past thirteen weeks for Union Pacific Railroad. Two new GE Evolution Series(TM) locomotives were delivered to the railroad on June 5th and are currently in northern California undergoing a series of high altitude emissions, fuel and tunnel tests.
In the fourth quarter of 2003, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway will begin working with GE Transportation Systems to test thirty (30) additional GE Evolution Series(TM) pre-production locomotives on their trains. If the locomotives perform to their satisfaction, the railroad has indicated that they would be interested.
“The first thirteen weeks of active service have been very encouraging, and we have learned a great deal about how GE Evolution Series locomotives perform in a demanding environment,” said Steve Gray, GE Transportation Systems’ general manager of engineering. “We will continue to aggressively test pre-production units throughout 2003 and 2004 — focusing on accumulating operating hours in the toughest North American terrains — with the goal of introducing the most reliable product at launch.”
In addition to the 75,000 miles surpassed, the first three locomotives have logged more than 550 hours of full-throttle “Notch 8” operation while working on manifest trains out of Hinkle, OR and have preformed well on their initial high-speed capability tests that were completed on several intermodal runs between Chicago and Northern California. After the second pair of GE Evolution Series(TM) locomotives completes high altitude testing, they will join the other three pre-production units in active revenue service.
The GE Evolution Series(TM) locomotive is currently the only freight locomotive in active revenue service that complies with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions standards that take effect in 2005. It incorporates the new GEVO-12(TM), twelve-cylinder diesel engine, which produces the same horsepower as current sixteen-cylinder, 4400 horsepower locomotives, cuts polluting gases and particulate matter by more than 40% and reduces fuel consumption by about 3%. This platform was introduced two years before EPA “Tier 2” emission standards take effect.
The GE Evolution Series(TM) is a full-line of alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) locomotive platforms that have been designed to meet EPA regulations beyond 2005.
GE Transportation Systems (http://www.getransportation.com/) is one of the world’s leading suppliers to the railroad, transit, marine and mining industries, providing freight and passenger locomotives, motorized systems for mining trucks, drilling equipment, railway signaling and communications systems, value-added services and information technology solutions to its customers. With sales in excess of $2 billion, GE Transportation Systems employs approximately 8,000 people worldwide. (NYSE:GE)