USA: Rail, marine and generator product supplier OptiFuel Systems has announced that it is ready to manufacture freight locomotives of 1 200 to 2 400 hp fuelled by biomethane and natural gas.
The South Carolina company is using a proprietary EPA rail-certified KOFSG11.9400 engine based on the Cummins ISX12N, which since 2016 has been utilised in more than 12 000 Class 8 long-haul lorries.
OptiFuel says it is capable of rebuilding most standard shunting and road switcher locomotive families with modular components.
Multiple modular engine pods can be incorporated to provide for 1 200, 1 600, 2 000 or 2 400 hp. The design would allow each pod to be replaced in under 3 h using a forklift or crane. Customers will have a choice of modular electronic controls from TMV or Medha.
Depending on options including frame size, horsepower and quantity of fuel storage required, the company puts the estimated cost for a completely refurbished locomotive at between $1·7m and $2·4m or a new locomotive from $2·0m to $2·7m.
OptiFuel also proposes to provide kits and assembly support, allowing customers to provide their own ‘preferred content’ in the final assembly of the locomotives. The company can also work with customers to arrange for leasing options, including dovetailing leases with grant funds where permissible.
OptiFuel will provide a standard five year/10 000 h warranty for all engine pods, CNG onboard storage system and controls. All parts and supplies for the KOFSG11.9400 and overhauls can be purchased at any certified Cummins dealer or from OptiFuel. The CNG storage cylinders have a 20 years lifecycle that may be extended to 30 years.
OptiFuel has also obtained a Department of Energy grant to demonstrate a 4 400 hp main line locomotive powered with renewable natural gas, with pre-production testing to be undertaken at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado.
‘We believe there is a need for locomotives that deliver value and cleaner, more economical solutions simultaneously to railroads, railroad customers and urban and environmental justice communities’, said OptiFuel President Scott Myers. ‘Beyond Tier 5, EPA certified technology is available today. We think that in the next two years there will be a 50-state Low Carbon Fuel Standard programme that includes rail and an extension of the existing federal Alternative Fuel Credit program to include rail. These programmes, just as in trucking and aviation, will provide renewable natural gas to the railroads at a near zero cost and providing them the financial incentive to decarbonise their fleets over the next 15 years.’
