TRANSIT: Amtrak focuses on sustainability with new advanced-technology trains

New advanced-technology electric locomotives are now in service along the Northeast Corridor. The locomotives will save the cost of about 3 billion-kilowatt hours of electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the coming decades.

The locomotives are designed for easier maintenance and energy efficiency by using a regenerative braking system that will feed energy back into the power grid.

According to a 2015 report by the national Transportation Research Board, passenger rail is generally three to four times more efficient, using less energy and producing less greenhouse gas emissions than automobile or air travel for equivalent door-to-door trips. Amtrak recently signed the International Union of Railways (UIC) Railway Climate Responsibility Pledge.

In signing the pledge, Amtrak committed to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, stimulate modal shift to rail in national and international markets, actively communicate climate-friendly initiatives, and publicly report data on energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.