USA: The United States Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration have allocated two grants under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements programme.
The first grant of $48.4 will allow two Wabtec technologies to be tested in the Transportation Technology Center operated by ENSCO in Pueblo. A mainline locomotive with a hydrogen tender shown in the rendering and a dual-fuel internal combustion engine working on a blend of hydrogen and diesel will be tested. Wabtec, Linde, a hydrogen supplier, and Greenbrier will contribute 20% of the project costs.
The second grant of $11.7 mln will be awarded to Colorado State University to test the safety of rolling stock running on compressed air and natural gas. The tests will also be carried out in Pueblo. The partners in this project – OptiFuel Systems and the University of Hawaii – will also contribute 36% of the costs.
