BNSF Gets Grant for Hybrid Switch Engine

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF), a Blue Skyways Collaborative participant, has received a Texas Emissions Reduction Program (TERP) grant of $28.5 million form another collaborative participant, the Texas Council on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), to replace older locomotives with less polluting hybrid switch engines.

These engines achieve a 40 to 60 percent fuel savings and 80 to 90 percent reduction in NOx (which equates to approximately 1,143 tons per year) and particulate matter. The grant is for $11.42 million in the Dallas Fort Worth area for 20 switch engines, and $17.3 million in the Houston/Galveston area for 30 switch engines.

Learn more about BNSF at http://www.bnsf.com and TCEQ's TERP program at http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/implementation/air/terp/index.html.