Union Pacific has announced the arrival of two new Wabtec FLXdrive battery-electric locomotives in Southern California, where testing will soon begin in the greater Los Angeles area. These units are the first of four to be delivered to the railroad, with two more arriving in October to be tested alongside the others.

Extensive testing will cover a variety of railroad operations, including switching duties and servicing local customers. Each locomotive carries approximately 7,000 battery cells, provides about 2.7 megawatt-hours of energy storage and produces zero tailpipe emissions during operation.

The locomotives are part of UP’s broader efforts to modernize operations, improve efficiency, and advance technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Union Pacific has never been content to stand still,” said Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena. “Our industry is constantly evolving, and if we’re not exploring what’s next, we risk being left behind. Testing technologies like battery-electric locomotives help us to better understand what’s possible by putting these emerging technologies to work in actual railroad operations.”

Wabtec is an American rail equipment company formed through the 1999 merger of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company and MotivePower. In 2019, it acquired General Electric’s transportation division, the largest producer of diesel locomotives in North America. The FLXdrive locomotives are the company’s first to be battery-electric powered. 

— Nick Stewart