Battery-powered trains are picking up speed

Enlarge (credit: Wabtec)

Battery-electric power is commonplace in cars and trucks and is being tested in planes, helicopters, and container ships. Now, battery power is coming to trains, in place of the diesel-fueled generators that have powered locomotives for more than a century.

Last week, Union Pacific Railroad agreed to buy 20 battery-electric freight locomotives from Wabtec and Progress Rail. The deal, which drew praise from President Biden, is worth more than $100 million. The battery-electric locomotives initially will be used to sort train cars in rail yards in California and Nebraska.

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