Progress Rail, Pacific Harbor Line sign pact

Progress Rail Services Corp. Tuesday announced an agreement with Pacific Harbor Line, Inc. (PHL) to repower 16 Tier 2 locomotives with newer, lower emissions Tier 3 Cat engines for operation in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Progress Rail said the Cat 3512C HD engines will be equipped with Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs).

PHL Managing Director Andrew Fox said, “This will be the cleanest locomotive fleet in North America. Particulate matter (PM) will be reduced by more than 90% from the current engines, which were already among the cleanest in the country.” When completed, PHL entire fleet of 22 locomotives will meet or exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 standards, according to Fox.

(PHL was Railway Age’s 2009 Short Line Railroad of the Year, in large measure based on the railroad’s aggressive, proactive environmental strategy.)

The locomotives will be repowered in Progress Rail Services’ Tacoma, Wash., facility during 2011 and will enter service once certified by the EPA. The project, totaling approximately $12 million, will be funded in large part by a grant from the Carl Moyer Program administered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and California Air Resources Board, and with funds from PHL.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach facilitated this project by entering into agreements with PHL, making it possible for the railroad to commit to long-term use of Progress Rail’s sustainable locomotives as a part of the ports’ Clean Air Action Plan.

“We are pleased to work with Progress Rail Services and Caterpillar in our efforts to lower locomotive emissions in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area,” said Michael Stolzman, president of PHL. “These locomotives will provide reliable and cleaner performance for many years—important criteria for the environment and operation of the ports, which moves 42% of all U.S. imported goods.”

“Being selected by PHL, which has been a leader in many ways, including being named Short Line of the Year by Railway Age in 2009, is truly an honor. It was the first railroad in the country to field an all Tier 2 and Tier 3 fleet in 2008,” said Billy Ainsworth, president and CEO of Progress Rail. “We are pleased that PHL has selected Progress Rail and low-emission Cat engines as the solution that creates the most value and takes PHL to the next level. Progress Rail, combined with its subsidiary Electro-Motive Diesel, offers locomotive customers the most diverse range of engine solutions for their locomotive needs.”

Progress Rail is a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc.