A new, low-emission locomotive will be coming to the Fresh Pond Railyard in Glendale thanks to the Locomotive Repower Project, which aims to redesign and repower conventional freight locomotives with state-of-the-art low-emissions diesel technologies.
This project is a partnership between the city Department of Sanitation (DSNY), New York & Atlantic Railway (NYA) and Waste Management of New York, and is being made possible with grant funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program, as authorized by the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA).
The Locomotive Repower Project will replace a single pre-1973 1,200-horsepower switch locomotive at the Fresh Pond Rail Yard with a mother-slug configuration. A mother-slug locomotive is a two-part locomotive, one part having a diesel engine and traction motors, and the other with only traction motors.
The advantage of having a mother-slug locomotive will allow the locomotive to apply more power to the rails in order to start the train from a stop and move it along the tracks, creating a more efficient method of moving train cars.
According to Waste Management, this repowered locomotive will meet the new, more stringent Tier 4 emission standards set by the U.S. EPA. The conversion will save an estimated 18,000 gallons of fuel per year, and is estimated to reduce emissions by 9.75 tons of nitrogen oxides and 0.22 tons of particulate matter annually.
From a greenhouse gas perspective, Waste Management said, the project will avoid the release of 230 tons of carbon dioxide on an annual basis.
This repowered locomotive will be stationed at the Fresh Pond Railyard and will serve approximately 20 local businesses including Waste Management’s Varick Avenue truck-to-rail waste transfer station in Williamsburg and the Review Avenue truck-to-rail waste transfer station in Long Island City.
