Wabtec delivers 1,000th Tier 4 locomotive

Wabtec Corp. recently celebrated the delivery to CN of the 1,000th Evolution Series Tier 4 locomotive at its plant in Fort Worth, Tex, a former GE Transportation facility.

The Evolution Series Tier 4, developed by GE Transportation several years prior to the company’s acquisition by Wabtec, was the first freight locomotive to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tier 4 emission standards. It decreased emissions by more than 70% compared to the Tier 3 without the need for after-treatment, and as such “saved railroad customers more than $1.5 billion in urea infrastructure and operational costs,” Wabtec noted.

Since delivering the first production model to BNSF Railway, the Evolution Series Tier 4 locomotive has been acquired by six Class I railroads and two mining companies in North America. “The fleet already has completed more than 100 million miles of revenue service, the equivalent of hauling freight from Seattle to Miami approximately 30,000 times,” Wabtec said. It has also accumulated more than 2,500 locomotive years of operation.”

“This achievement underscores [GE’s] bold decision in 2013 to develop a Tier 4 locomotive,” said Rafael Santana, incoming President and CEO of Wabtec, who came from GE Transportation with the acquisition. “Delivering 1,000 locomotives in less than five years proves it was the right locomotive at the right time to meet market needs.”