A new breed of low-emissions locomotives at Norfolk Southern’s Inman Yard helps Atlanta achieve federal clean-air standards while driving Georgia’s economy.
Trains are engines of commerce for Georgia. Norfolk Southern alone moves 1.3 million rail shipments in the Peach State annually, totaling 55 million tons of freight for some 1,200 customers. With industrial development activity that creates new Georgia business, jobs, and investment – and service to the state’s ports – Norfolk Southern connects Georgia communities to the marketplaces of the world and gives the state a competitive transportation advantage.
Atlanta’s skyline is a memorable view from the tower of Inman Yard, a major commercial and intermodal transportation hub northwest of the city. Norfolk Southern operates 75 freight trains through Inman daily, hauling commodities vital to daily living.
Making sure this freight gets on the right trains headed to the right destinations demands locomotive horsepower in big urban rail centers. Enter Norfolk Southern’s new “Eco” locomotives. They are heralded for operating efficiencies, low emissions, and stingy fuel consumption. When they were unveiled during an Inman Yard ceremony attended by Gov. Nathan Deal and state and federal transportation and environmental officials, they received praise as well for a valuable commodity all Atlantans can appreciate – clean air.
The 3,000-horsepower locomotives adhere to the Environmental Protection Agency’s stringent Tier 3 emissions standards. Inman’s Ecos – 10 altogether this year, with more to come in 2016 – will account for 6.6 fewer tons of particulate matter, 14.7 fewer tons of hydrocarbons, and 155 fewer tons of nitrogen oxides, pollutants generally associated with smog and acid rain. Additional Eco units will be put to work at our rail yards at Macon and Rome. For Atlanta and Georgia, that means respect for our green spaces and the quality of our air.
The Eco project is a fine example of collaboration between public and private partners to produce technology that sustains environmental health. Norfolk Southern designed and built the locomotives using components from Electro-Motive Diesel, a division of Progress Rail Services, a Caterpillar company. The project was funded in part by grants from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. The Eco units feature a Georgia-shaped icon and the slogan “Working Together for a Cleaner State.” This model of cooperative leadership of private businesses and government agencies enables achievement of projects that are good for business and improve the quality of our communities.
Rollout of the Eco units represents another milestone in our sustainability journey. Over the last five years, Norfolk Southern has made a concentrated effort to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of our locomotive fleet. In that time, we have achieved an 8.5 percent reduction per revenue ton-mile.
From our beginnings in the earliest days of American railroading in the 1830s, Norfolk Southern has made great leaps toward environmental consciousness. Our sustainability vision is to connect our historical legacy to a future that provides benefits for our customers, investors, the communities we serve, and our people. The contributions our people are making toward excellence in sustainability are just as impressive. For example, on Halloween, Norfolk Southern employees, families, and friends will gather at Atlanta’s Piedmont Park, within a half-mile of our Midtown office building, for park beautification and trail improvements.
Railroads have a proud tradition of helping to build the nation. Just as technology transformed railroad operations, it also made them greener. Today, rail is more vital to our national transportation network than ever, and it is the most energy-efficient and eco-friendly way to transport the goods that move the economy.
Our Atlanta transportation operations are central to serving customers throughout our network and beyond. We consider it a corporate responsibility to mitigate the environmental impacts of our rail operations, and we are grateful for our partners in government and business who help us achieve this goal.
Our commitment is long-term. Just as we have served our customers and communities for close to two centuries, Norfolk Southern is dedicated to remaining a responsible corporate citizen for generations to come.
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