West Sacramento-based Sierra Northern Railway (SERA) has received the esteemed Environmental Award from the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) for its leadership in sustainable rail transport innovations.
The award recognizes Sierra Northern’s launch of California’s first zero-emission Hydrogen Switcher Locomotive and the creation of the Inland Port and Transload facility in California’s Central Valley that mark monumental steps toward bolstering sustainability in freight movement, the company announced.
Sierra Northern’s Hydrogen Switcher Locomotive project began when the California Energy Commission in 2021 awarded the company nearly $4 million to fund design, integrate, and demonstrate a zero-emission switching locomotive. Sierra Northern in 2023 received an additional $19.5 million from the State of California to expand those efforts with three additional switching locomotives. Testing is expected to start later in 2024. The company by 2027 will have a fleet of four hydrogen-fueled switching locomotives operating in the Sacramento region. This will pave the way for its entire fleet and more than 260 switchers operated by short lines throughout California to be converted to a zero-emission solution.
Press release https://shorturl.at/bpwyQ
