(The following story by Tom Mast appeared on the Star-Tribune website on February 3.)
CASPER, Wyo. — Locomotive engineers on the Union Pacific are being rewarded for saving diesel fuel.
As part of the company’s Fuel Masters program, an engineer’s fuel consumption over a two-month period is compared against other engineers in the same operating territory.
Engineers who operate in the most fuel-efficient manner are given $100 fuel cards for their personal cars and trucks.
Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said engineers are given fuel efficiency tip sheets, and at several locations, simulators help them reduce fuel use. Engineers are counseled on ways to save fuel by peers who are top performers in their pool.
UP also has developed new switch engines that increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, Barnes said.
UP’s hybrid “Green Goat,” which handles cars in a rail yard, reduces oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter up to 80 percent and reduces fuel consumption by at least 16 percent.