(The following report appeared on the Daily Record website on August 6.)
PARSIPPANY, N.J. — NJ Transit will spend $537,500 to install devices on some diesel locomotives that will reduce the time that the noisy engines idle at train yards including the one in Port Morris in Morris County, officials said Tuesday.
The devices enable locomotives to automatically shut down rather than idle for long periods and help reduce fuel consumption, emissions and noise pollution caused by train engines parked in train yards between trips or overnight, NJ Transit officials said in a statement.
In Morris County the noise reduction on some trains will be noticeable at the Port Morris rail yard in Roxbury and possibly at the Dover yard too, they said.
NJ Transit will install the automatic engine stop/start units in all 33 of its newest diesel engines — the PL-42 locomotives, acquired in 2005 and 2006, which are in use throughout the transit system.
Manually shutting down diesel locomotives for long periods of time can present some difficulties. In freezing temperatures, for instance, the engines may have trouble restarting. Also, since the engine often serves as the power source for the light and air conditioning systems in the passenger cars, they sometimes must idle to maintain comfortable temperatures for passengers and crew members, the statement said.
The new units have sensors that monitor the status of vital engine components and automatically start up the engine when conditions warrant it. The engine will then run for a short period of time and shut down on its own.
NJ Transit estimated that the reduction of idling time brought about by the portion of its fleet equipped with the AESS units will:
• Save about $835,000 per year in fuel;
• Lessen annual emissions by 2,269 tons of carbon dioxide, 26 tons of nitrogen oxides and 0.51 tons of particulate matter; and
• Allow engines to last longer by reducing wear and tear. The locomotives that will benefit from the upgrades operate 21 hours a day and travel 71,000 miles annually.
The spending was approved by the Board of Trustees of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, the statement said.
“Two of the most critical challenges facing every transportation agency today are how to cut down on fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This is a practical investment that will attack both problems head on, and pay for itself several times over in diesel cost savings as the years pass,” said NJTPA Chairman Susan Zellman, who is also a Sussex County freeholder.
Funding for the new units will come from the federal Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program, which provides financing for projects that reduce congestion and/or pollutants from fossil fuel use.
The NJTPA’s Local CMAQ Initiatives Program, included in its FY 2008-11 Transportation Improvement Program, devotes $1 million in funding this year for regional projects that accomplish these clean air goals.
NJ Transit estimates that the total cost of outfitting the engines with AESS units will be approximately $1.4 million. The agency is seeking additional grant funding elsewhere to help offset the cost.