Watch: CSX, UP Advance Alternative-Power Locomotive Projects
CSX on May 29 reported that it has completed three HFC-powered units, with a fourth expected to be finished later this year. The Class I railroad in 2024 unveiled its first converted unit as part of a collaboration with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).
GP38H2 No. 2100 was converted from an existing EMD GP40-2 diesel-electric locomotive using a hydrogen conversion kit developed by CPKC. The transformation took place at CSX’s Huntington Locomotive Shop. The conversion team reused several components, including the frame, cab, traction motors and trucks. The two additional units similarly reused components, which “extend the lifespan of the locomotives while supporting CSX’s commitment to sustainability,” the railroad said.
CSX Project Coordinator Daniel Adkins discussed the railroad’s Hydrogen Locomotive Program in a recently released video (watch below).
“There is no one person who pulls this off,” Adkins said in the video. “This is truly a team effort. There are very few, if any, other locations in the country that can do what we do here at the Huntington Locomotive Shop. The Hydrogen Locomotive Program is just a massive undertaking. Currently, here at the shop, we have 24 craftsmen that are working on this unit throughout various shifts, and we coordinate the work to allow them each to get in to do their part of the puzzle and they own it. I’ve been here at the railroad going on 23 years, and I find myself a lot of times just being awestruck by what we’re doing, what we’re accomplishing. It’s not days, but it’s literally hours that we are taking something from the planning room to installing it or making a modification to a locomotive. It’s the ownership of it. These are our ideas. We’re all in this together, and we are just trying to make this program, this shop, this community a success.”
At UP, the first of six UP-ZTR-built battery-electric switchers is said to be on track to complete its pilot in 2026.
The railroad on May 30 reported that the team “recently wrapped up testing and proof of concept” at the Jenks Locomotive Shop. The next step, it said, will be to test the unit in a working rail yard.
UP and ZTR introduced the first unit in 2024, months after announcing their partnership on the project. ZTR designed the hybrid propulsion technology, while UP built the prototype at its North Little Rock facility.
The next of the remaining five hybrid units is expected to be ready for testing in 2026.
The hybrid locomotives will operate as “mother-slug” units, with one locomotive running on diesel and an accessory or “slug” unit providing battery power (watch the newly released video below).
“The locomotives can run on a traditional diesel engine or stored battery power, with the battery recharging during engine operation,” UP reported. “Depending on mode of operation, the hybrid switchers are expected to consume as much as 80% less fuel.”
The new units will be used chiefly for yard operations with the engineless slug increasing traction motors available to the locomotive, “boosting the pulling and braking power that is key for this kind of work,” according to UP.
