(The Associated Press circulated the following article on February 22.)
FRESNO, Calif. — Union Pacific expects to have spent $5 billion by the end of the year to buy cleaner locomotives and upgrade older engines to reduce emissions.
The company, like other railroads, is trying to invest in environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient technology to meet or exceed requirements set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The company showed off 12-cylinder-engine locomotives Wednesday in Fresno as part of a tour through California to showcase the company’s GE Evolution Series, which produce 40 percent fewer emissions than the previous 16-cylinder models but have the same power, railroad officials said.
A few years ago, Union Pacific rolled out hybrid locomotives in switching yards designed to cut emissions by 80 percent and use 16 percent less fuel.
Other railroads, such as Burlington Northern Santa Fe, use hybrids and trains that run on liquefied natural gas.
More than 65 trains pass daily through Fresno, the heart of the polluted San Joaquin Valley.