Metrolink’s new F125 clean diesel locomotives were unveiled this month in Los Angeles, with the first of 40 that will nearly replace the city’s aging fleet.
Aside from being 25 years newer than the trains they’re replacing, the new F125s can also do something no other trains can: eliminate pollution.
Clean Diesel Locomotives Boast Impressive Emissions Reductions
The new locomotive is virtually pollution-less as part of California’s environmental agencies collective push towards cleaner air, and the numbers don’t lie. The trains boast a 4,700-horsepower engine, providing 64 percent more power than the current fleet, and making it easier to add more cars, and passengers, in the future.
The new trains are an indication that the city of Los Angeles, as well as the rest of the state, are looking for new ways to lower the environmental impact of day-to-day living, with a large focus on transportation. Most of the easier, cheaper options for eliminating air pollution have already been accomplished, Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson said in an interview with the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
We’ve run out of obvious options to get to clean air. What’s left? It is planes, trains and automobiles,” he said.
When the full order of F125s are running, it “will mean the equivalent of removing the annual emissions of 31,320 vehicles on roadways,” Metrolink estimated.
Clean Diesel Locomotives Reduce Air Quality Impacts
Metrolink’s clean diesel locomotives utilize new technology that prevents most of diesel particulates from entering into the atmosphere, turning it instead into nitrogen and water vapor. For residents along the commuter tracks, the change will mean increased air quality and a reduction in lung diseases due to pollution.
Metrolink and California’s leadership will certainly inspire other operators across the nation to operate the cleanest, most advanced locomotives money can buy,” said Raymond Tellis, director of the Federal Transit Administration.
Read the full story on the San Gabriel Valley Tribune’s website.