Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 2:11pm PST
New, clean Capitol Corridor train unveiled
Sacramento Business Journal - by Melanie Turner Staff writer
California’s cleanest passenger locomotive, which will operate on the Capitol Corridor route between Sacramento and the Bay Area, was unveiled Tuesday during an event in San Francisco hosted by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and its partners.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last year tightened locomotive engine standards for all diesel line-haul, passenger and switch engines in the United States. The regulations will reduce harmful particulate matter emissions by 90 percent and oxides of nitrogen (gases from engine combustion) by 80 percent, by 2030.
Most trains traveling between Sacramento and the Bay Area are powered by highly polluting diesel engines. New engines use pollution controls to drastically cut those emissions.
“The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District is pleased to continue its partnership with the Bay Area Air District to bring more clean locomotives to the Capitol Corridor,” Sacramento Metro Air District executive director Larry Greene said in a news release. “This is an important investment in the health of citizens all along this successful route.”
Funding of $826,000 was provided by the Bay Area Air District, the Sacramento Metro Air District, and the U.S. EPA. The engine will perform at a level that exceeds what is currently required by the EPA’s regulations.
“It sets a new benchmark for cleaner passenger rail throughout California,’ said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Bay Area Air District, in the release.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last year tightened locomotive engine standards for all diesel line-haul, passenger and switch engines in the United States. The regulations will reduce harmful particulate matter emissions by 90 percent and oxides of nitrogen (gases from engine combustion) by 80 percent, by 2030.
Most trains traveling between Sacramento and the Bay Area are powered by highly polluting diesel engines. New engines use pollution controls to drastically cut those emissions.
“The Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District is pleased to continue its partnership with the Bay Area Air District to bring more clean locomotives to the Capitol Corridor,” Sacramento Metro Air District executive director Larry Greene said in a news release. “This is an important investment in the health of citizens all along this successful route.”
Funding of $826,000 was provided by the Bay Area Air District, the Sacramento Metro Air District, and the U.S. EPA. The engine will perform at a level that exceeds what is currently required by the EPA’s regulations.
“It sets a new benchmark for cleaner passenger rail throughout California,’ said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Bay Area Air District, in the release.
